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The  Burning 

of  Royalton 

Vermont 

By  Indians 


ZADOCK   STEELE. 
Reprodticed  front  an  oil  painting  done  in  1835. 


Burning  of  Royalton,  Uermont 


,-. 


By  Indians 


A  careful  research  of  all  that  pertains  to  the 
subject,  including  a  reprint  of  Zadock  Steele's 
Narrative,  also  a  complete  account  of  the  va- 
rious anniversaries  and  the  placing  of  a  mon- 
ument commemorating  the  event,  has  herein 
been  made 

BY 

IVAH  IdUNKLEE 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON 
Geo.  H.  Ellis  Co.,  Printers,  272  Congress  Street 

1906 


Copyright,  igo6 
By  IVAH  DUNKLEE 


All  rights  reserved 


fHemortal  CElJtti«tt  ^Publtgljeli  in  iffiag,  1906 


Cloth-bound  copies  of  the  History  of  the  Burning  of 
Royal  ton  by  Indians,  without  advertisements,  $i.io, 
postpaid.     Order   from 

IVAH    DUNKLEE, 

"  Oakfield," 
Weymouth,   Mass. 


PREFACE. 

This  work  has  been  arranged  according  to  the  passing  of 
time  which  brought  about  the  historic  sequence  of  events. 
First,  a  glimpse  of  Royalton  to-day  is  given,  then  in  Zadock 
Steele's  graphic  description  we  see  the  pioneer  settlement  as  it 
was  when  the  Indians  surprised  it,  and  in  natural  order  the 
happenings  of  the  years  thereafter  are  recorded  down  to  the  un- 
veiling of  the  monument  commemorating  the  event. 

The  task  has  been  made  a  pleasure  because  of  the  enthu- 
siastic co-operation  of  the  townspeople,  who  have  not  tired 
in  rendering  every  aid  possible  in  telling  the  story,  which 
covers  a  period  of  125  years. 

No  one  was  more  interested  in  this  work  than  that  very 
big-hearted,  pubUc  spirited  woman,  the  late  Mrs.  Katherine 
Fletcher  Kendall  Rix,  who  generously  loaned  me  her  cherished 
copy  of  Zadock  Steele's  narrative.  I  owe  much  to  Mrs. 
George  Allen  Laird,  who  has  unstintedly  given  her  assistance, 
and  thanks  are  due  the  town  clerk,  William  Skinner,  and  Dr. 
D.  L.  Burnett. 

The  illustrations  used  in  Dr.  Burnett's  article  were  kindly 
loaned  by  M.  J.  Sargent  and  Son,  South  Royalton,  those  in 
the  Phineas  Parkhurst  story  by  Byron  N.  Clark,  and  the  others 
by  G.  A.  Cheney. 

I.  D. 


<  mT?5G7 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

ROYALTON  AS  IT  IS  TO-DAY 5 

Zadock  Steele's  Narrative lo 

The  Royalton  Lapayette  saw  in  1825 37 

The  50TH  Anniversary  in  1830,  and  the  Original  Poem  sung 

BY  Eliza  Skinner  Denison 40 

Dramatization  of  Zadock  Steele's  Account  by  Soldiers'  Aid 

Society  in  Civil  War  Time 41 

The  Centennial  Anniversary 42 

Location  of  Many  of  the  Historic  Sites  by  D.  L.  Burnett,  M.D.  44 

Gut  of  Granite  Memorial  by  D.  G.  Wild 51 

Turning  of  the  Sod  for  the  Monument 51 

Woman's  Club  of  Royalton      53 

Ceremonies  at  Unveiling  of  Monument      55 

Address  by  Rev.  William  Skinner  Hazen,  D.D .  59 

Poem  by  Rev.  J.  Newton  Perrin 71 

Poem  by  Charles  S.  Scarff 55 

APPENDIX. 

Story  of  Phineas  Parkhurst 79 

Notes 84 


ROYALTON   AS   IT   IS   TO-DAY. 

In  all  the  White  River  Valley  there  is  no  more  picturesque 
town  than  Royalton,  Vt.,  and  its  lustily  flourishing  offspring, 
SoutI  Royalton.  Snug  to  the  river  lie  the  hearts  of  the  towns, 
but  the  outlying  farms  and  summer  houses  are  scattered 
among  the  hills,  that  are  in  reality  mountains,  shutting  in  the 
river-winding  valley.  This  region  is  famous  for  its  echoes. 
Even  the  engine  blasts  are  taken  up  and  tossed  from  height 
to  height  until  the  blatant  tones  are  transformed  into  "the 
horns  of  Elfland  sweetly  blowing."  It  is  a  wonderful  land 
under  high  cultivation  now,  and  a  popular  resort  for  summer 
travellers,  who  are  unanimous  in  calling  this  the  Switzerland 
of  America. 

It  is,  however,  the  sterling  worth  of  the  people  that  makes 
the  region  remarkable.  A  few  facts  show  the  place  as  it  is 
to-day.  The  population  at  the  last  census  in  1900  was  1427. 
There  are  23,292  acres  of  town,  and  real  estate  for  taxation 
stands  at  $537,845,  personal  real  estate  at  $166,876.  There 
were  347 polls,  and  the  grand  list  for  town  in  1905  was  $7,741.21. 
The  expense  of  the  new  steel  bridge  was  $12,281.96. 

This  farming  town  is  without  industries,  but  it  has  several 
large  water  powers  which  need  capital  for  development.  The 
two  creameries  absorb  the  dairy  products  and  are  satisfactory 
to  the  farmers.  Its  public  buildings  number  a  town  house,  a 
town  clerk's  office  at  Royalton,  with  extensive  grounds  an- 
nexed, and  there  is  a  large  and  well-furnished  building  and 
farm  for  the  poor. 

The  town  has  ever  been  renowned  for  its  academy,  which 
was  chartered  in  1807.  From  here  have  gone  forth  many  men 
and  women  who  have  made  their  mark,  and  to-day  it  is  the 
Central  School  in  the  town  system.  There  are  graded  schools, 
and  besides  the   Congregational  and   Episcopal  churches  at 


6  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

Royalton  there  are  the  Congregational,  Methodist,  and  Cath- 
olic churches  in  South  Royalton.  The  stores  of  both  places 
are  excellent,  there  are  two  hotels,  a  Woman's  Club,  and  able 
physicians  and  lawyers. 

In  sight  of  all  this  prosperity  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that 
the  only  serious  raid  made  by  the  British  and  Indians  upon 
the  northern  frontier  during  the  Revolutionary  War  was  right 
at  this  point,  and  that  Oct.  i6,  1780,  the  little  settlement  of 
Royalton,  numbering  300  souls,  was  practically  wiped  off  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

An  account  of  that  day  of  horrors  comes  down  to  us  in  a 
quaint  little  leather-bound  volume  of  which  there  exist  but  a 
few  copies,  of  these  only  two  or  three  are  in  good  condition, 
and  because  of  their  rarity  there  is  a  great  price  upon  them. 
.This  book,  entitled  "The  Indian  Captive,"  is  in  two  parts, 
and  only  the  first,  which  tells  of  the  burning  of  Royalton,  is 
here  given. 

Zadock  Steele,  the  grandson  of  the  first-settled  Congrega- 
tional minister  of  old  Tolland  in  Connecticut,  was  then  a 
young  man  of  twenty-one.  According  to  his  account  he  spent 
the  day  helping  families  escape  to  the  woods  with  whatever 
of  their  effects  they  could  carry,  and  passed  the  night  in  a  log 
house  upon  his  father's  lot  near  the  Brookfield  line.  Early 
in  the  morning,  while  he  was  asleep,  the  house  was  surrounded 
by  Indians,  who  made  him  captive,  and  then  set  fire  to  the  house. 

One  of  the  Indians  bore  away  on  his  shoulder  a  bag  of  Steele's 
grass  seed.  A  rent  in  the  sacking  let  fall  the  seed,  and  behold 
in  the  spring,  and  for  many  years  after,  the  exit  of  the  red 
men  was  marked  by  a  trail  of  rankly  growing  grass  that  led 
into  the  wilderness  toward  Canada  where  Steele  was  kept  in 
captivity  for  two  years.  He  finally  made  his  escape,  and, 
after  enduring  great  sufferings,  found  his  way  back  to  the  old 
familiar  valley.  In  time  he  married,  and  no  stories  ever  held 
his  children  spell-bound  like  those  their  father  told  them  of 
that  never-to-be-forgotten  day  when  Indians  made  him  captive. 
He  was  nearly  sixty  years  old  when,  at  the  exhortation  of  family 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  7 

and  friends,  he  chronicled  the  story  of  "The  Burning  of  Royal- 
ton."  With  his  son  Horace  as  amanuensis,  he  narrated  in 
words  quaintly  graphic  and  deeply  religious  the  happenings 
of  that  day  as  he  knew  them  by  personal  experience  and  the 
testimony  of  neighbors. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  pride  to  the  loyal-hearted  people 
of  the  va%y  to  treasure  every  word,  incident,  and  relic  that 
centres  around  that  historic  date,  Oct.  16,  1780.  The  anni- 
versaries have  been  marked  with  a  pronounced  demonstra- 
tion of  public  spirit.  Sometimes  they  have  taken  the  form  of 
simple  gatherings  on  the  village  green;  in  Civil  War  time  the 
tragedy  was  retold  in  dramatic  form  and  the  proceeds  sent 
to  the  boys  in  blue;  then  there  was  the  outdoor  spectacular 
re-living  of  the  memorable  day;  again  the  assembly  of  the 
people  to  select  a  suitable  spot  for  the  erection  of  a  monument 
commemorating  the  event,  and  finally  the  unveiling  of  the 
monument  in  1906. 

In  these  glimpses  into  the  life  of  the  valley  is  seen  the  pro- 
gress of  a  strong,  able  people — the  kind  who  make  America 
the  power  it  is  in  the  world  today. 


District  of  Vermont,  to  wit: — (L.S.)  Be  it  remembered,  that  on  the 
twenty -fifth  day  of  January,  in  the  forty -second  year  of  the  Independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  Horace  Steele,  of  the  said  district,  hath 
deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof,  he 
claims  as  proprietor,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit: 

"The  Indian  Captive,  or  a  Narrative  of  the  Captivity  and  Sufferings 
of  Zadock  Steele,  Related  by  Himself."  To  which  is  prefijced  an  account 
of  the  burning  of  Royal  ton.  "Hath  this  been  in  your  days,  or  even  in 
the  days  of  your  fathers?  Tell  ye  your  children  of  it,  and  let  your  chil- 
dren tell  their  children,  and  their  children  another  generation,"  Joel. 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled, 
"An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps, 
charts  and  books  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during 
the  times  therein  mentioned." 

JESSE   GOVE, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Vermont. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  author  of  this  work  neither  seeks  nor  expects  praise.  To  preserve 
in  memory  the  sufferings  of  our  fathers,  is  the  principal  object  of  its  pub- 
lication. As  no  particular  account  of  the  burning  of  Royalton  had  ever 
before  been  published,  it  was  thought  advisable  that  it  should  be  pre- 
fixed to  the  "narrative"  which  was  about  to  be  printed. 

The  great  confusion  which  prevailed  on  that  dreadful  day;  the  long 
lapse  of  time  since  the  event;  the  disadvantages  resvilting  from  the  frailty 
of  human  recollection,  and  the  writer's  inexperience,  is  the  only  apology 
he  offers  for  the  imperfections  of  the  work. 

For  the  information  respecting  this  tragical  scene,  he  is  indebted  to  the 
goodness  of  General  Stevens,  Colonel  Edson  and  others  who  were  eye 
witnesses. 


THE    BURNING  OF  ROYALTON 


BURNING   OF   ROYALTON. 

As  an  union  of  interest  always  strengthens  the  bonds  of  af- 
fection; so  a  participation  in  extreme  sufferings  will  never  fail 
to  produce  a  mutual  sensibility.  Prompted  by  a  generous 
glow  of  filial  love  and  affection,  we  generally  take  delight  in 
surveying  whatever  gave  our  forefathers  joy,  and  are  ready 
to  drop  a  sympathetic  tear  when  we  review  the  sufferings  which 
they  have  undergone.  But  contrary  to  the  laws  of  sympathy 
and  justice,  the  attention  of  the  public  is  often  engrossed  with 
accounts  of  the  more  dreadful  conflagrations  of  populous  cities 
in  foreign  countries,  or  the  defeat  of  armies  in  the  field  of 
carnage,  while  the  destruction  of  small  frontier  settlements 
by  the  Indian  tribes  in  our  own  country,  is  at  the  same  time 
little  known,  if  not  entirely  forgotten.  Thus  the  miseries  of 
our  neighbors  and  friends  around  us,  whose  bitter  cries  have 
been  heard  in  our  streets,  are  too  often  suffered  to  pass 
unnoticed  down  the  current  of  time  into  the  tomb  of  ob- 
livion. 

The  burning  of  Royalton  was  an  event  most  inauspicious 
and  distressing  to  the  first  settlers  of  that  town.  Nor  is  it  a 
little  strange  that,  among  the  numerous  authors  who  have 
recorded  the  events  of  the  American  Revolution,  some  of 
them  have  not  given  place  in  their  works  to  a  more  full  detail 
of  that  afflictive  scene. 

Laboring  under  all  the  difficulties  and  hardships  to  which 
our  infant  settlements  were  generally  subject,  and  striving 
by  persevering  industry  to  soar  above  every  obstacle  which 
might  present  itself  to  obstruct  their  progress;  they  had 
filled  their  barns  with  the  fruits  of  the  land;  their  storehouses 
were  crowded  with  the  comforts  of  life,  and  all  nature  seemed 
to  wear  a  propitious  smile.  All  around  them  promised  pros- 
perity.   They  were  far  removed  from  the  noise  of  war  and 


OCTOBER    1 6,  1780  II 

though  conscious  of  their  danger,  fondly  hoped  they  should 
escape  the  ravages  of  a  savage  foe. 

Royalton  was  chartered  in  the  year  1779.  A  considerable 
settlement,  however,  had  taken  place  previous  to  that  time, 
and  the  town  was  in  a  thriving  condition.  Large  stocks  of 
cattle,  which  would  confer  honor  upon  the  enterprise  of  farm- 
ers in  old  countries,  were  here  seen  grazing  in  their  fields. 

United  by  common  interest,  living  on  terms  of  friendship, 
and  manifesting  that  each  one  in  a  good  degree  "loved  his 
neighbor  as  himself,"  harmony  prevailed  in  their  borders; 
social  happiness  was  spread  around  their  firesides  and  plenty 
crowned  their  labors.  But,  alas !  the  dreadful  reverse  remains 
to  be  told !  While  joys  possessed  were  turned  to  sorrows,  their 
hopes  for  joys  to  come  were  blasted;  and,  as  the  former  strongly 
marked  the  grievous  contrast  between  a  state  of  prosperity 
and  affliction;  the  latter  only  showed  the  fallacy  of  promising 
ourselves  the  future. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i6th  of  October,  A.  D.,  1780,  before 
the  dawn  of  day,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  were  surprised 
by  the  approach  of  about  three  hundred  Indians,  of  various 
tribes.  They  were  led  by  the  Caghnewaga  tribe  and  had 
left  Canada,  intending  to  destroy  Newbury,  a  town  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Vermont  on  Connecticut  river.  A  British  lieu- 
tenant by  the  name  of  Horton  was  their  chief  commander, 
and  one  LeMott,  a  Frenchman,  was  his  second.  Their  pilot, 
or  leader,  was  a  despicable  villain  by  the  name  of  Hamilton, 
who  had  been  made  prisoner  by  the  Americans  at  the  taking 
of  Burgoyne  in  1777.  He  had  been  at  Newbury  and  Royalton 
the  preceding  summer,  on  parole  of  honor,  left  the  latter 
place  with  several  others  under  pretense  of  going  to  survey 
lands  in  the  northern  part  of  this  state,  and  went  directly  to 
the  enemy.  He  was  doubtless  the  first  instigator  of  those 
awful  depredations  which  were  the  bitter  fruits  of  this 
expedition,  and  ought  to  stamp  his  name  with  infamy  and 
disgrace. 

On  their  way  thither,  'tis  said,  they  came  across  several 


12  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

men  from  Newbury  who  were  engaged  in  hunting  near  the 
place  where  Montpelier  village  now  stands,  and  made  them 
prisoners.  They  made  known  their  object  to  these  hunters 
and  inquired  of  them  whether  an  armed  force  was  stationed 
at  Newbury.  Klnowing  the  defenceless  state  of  that  town  and 
hoping  they  should  be  able  to  induce  the  Indians  to  relinquish 
their  object  and  return  to  Canada,  they  told  them  that  such  an 
armed  garrison  was  kept  at  Newbury  as  would  render  it  ex- 
tremely dangerous  for  them  to  approach;  thus  artfully  dis- 
sembling by  ambiguity  of  expression  the  true  condition  of 
their  fellow  townsmen,  and  like  Rahab  the  harlot,  saved  their 
fathers'  house  from  destruction. 

Unwilling,  however,  that  their  expedition  should  prove 
wholly  fruitless,  they  turned  their  course  to  Royalton.  No 
arguments  which  the  prisoners  could  adduce,  were  sufficient 
to  turn  them  from  that  determination. 

Following  up  Onion  River  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Stevens 
Branch,  which  empties  into  the  river  at  Montpelier,  they  steered 
their  course  through  Barre,  at  that  time  called  Wildersburgh, 
proceeded  up  Gaol  branch  which  forms  a  part  of  Stevens' 
branch  and  traveled  over  the  mountains  through  Orange  and 
Washington;  thence  down  the  first  branch  of  White  River 
through  Chelsea  and  Tunbridge  to  Royalton.  They  laid  in 
their  encampment  at  Tunbridge,  not  far  distant  from  Royal- 
ton, during  the  Sabbath,  the  day  preceding  their  attack  upon 
the  latter  place,  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  measures  to 
carry  into  effect  their  atrocious  and  malignant  designs.  Here 
were  matured  those  diabolical  seeds  of  depredation  and  cruelty, 
from  which  sprang  bitterness,  sorrow  and  death! 

As  they  entered  the  town  before  daylight  appeared,  dark- 
ness covered  their  approach  and  they  were  not  discovered  till 
Monday  morning  at  dawn  of  day  when  they  entered  the  house 
of  Mr.  John  Hutchinson,  who  resided  not  far  from  the  line 
separating  Royalton  from  Tunbridge.  He  was  totally  igno- 
rant of  their  approach  and  wholly  unsuspicious  of  danger  till 
they  burst  the  door  upon  him. 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  13 

Here  they  took  Mr.  John  Hutchinson  and  Abijah  Hutch- 
inson, his  brother,  prisoners  and  plundered  the  house;  crossed 
the  first  branch  and  went  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Robert  Havens, 
who  lived  at  a  small  distance  from  Mr.  Hutchinson's.  Mr. 
Havens  had  gone  out  into  his  pasture  in  pursuit  of  his  sheep, 
and  having  ascended  a  hill  about  forty  rods  from  his  house, 
hearing  his  neighbor  Hutchinson's  dog  bark,  halted,  and 
stood  in  pensive  silence.  Here  he  listened  with  deep  anxiety 
to  know  the  extent  of  the  evil  he  feared.  But  alas!  he  little 
expected  to  find  a  herd  of  savage  men.  It  was  his  only  fear 
that  some  voracious  animal  was  among  his  sheep,  which  so 
disturbed  the  watchful  dog.  While  he  listened  in  silence,  with 
his  thoughts  suspended,  he  heard  a  noise  as  of  sheep  or  cattle 
running  with  full  speed  through  the  water.  Casting  his  eye 
to  the  west  toward  his  own  dwelling  he  beheld  a  company  of 
Indians  just  entering  the  door!  Seeing  his  own  danger  he 
immediately  laid  down  under  a  log  and  hid  himself  from  their 
sight.  But  he  could  not  hide  sorrow  from  his  mind.  Here  he 
wept.  Tears  trickling  down  his  withered  cheeks  bespoke  the 
anguish  of  his  soul  while  he  thought  upon  the  distress  of  his 
family.  With  groanings  unutterable  he  lay  awhile;  heard  the 
piercing  shrieks  of  his  beloved  wife  and  saw  his  sons  escaping 
for  their  lives. 

Bath'd  in  tears  the  hoary  sage 

In  sorrow  lay  conceal'd;  while  death 

In  frightful  form  stood  thick  around  him. 

With  bow-bent  readiness  and  arrows  dip'd 

In  venom,  promiscuous  flying. 

Vigilance  with  his  years  had  fled 

And  hope  was  almost  out  of  sight; 

Safety  quite  gone  and  far  beyond  his  reach. 

Laden  with  the  weight  of  years,  decrepit  and  infirm,  he 
was  sensible  if  he  appeared  in  sight  it  would  prove  his  death. 
He  therefore  resolved  not  to  move  until  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity presented.     His  son,  Daniel  Havens,  and  Thomas  Pem- 


14  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

ber,  were  in  the  house  and  made  their  appearance  at  the  door 

a  little  before  the  Indians  came  up.     Beholding  the  foe  but  a 

few  rods  distant,  they  run  for  their  lives.     Daniel  Havens  made 

his  escape  by  throwing  himself  over  a  hedge  fence  down  the 

bank   of   the   branch   and   crawling  under  a  log;   although  a 

large  number  of  Indians  passed  directly  over  it  in  pursuit  of 

him.     Who  can  tell  the  fears  that  agitated  his  bosom  while 

these  savage  pursuers  stepped  upon  the  log  under  which  he 

lay.    And  who  can  tell  the  joys  he  felt  when  he  saw  them  pass 

off,  leaving  him  in  safety!    A  quick  transition  from  painful 

fear  and  imminent  danger,  to  joyful  peace  and  calm  retirement. 

They  pursued  Thomas  Pember  till  they  came  so  near  as  to 

throw  a  spear  at  him  which  pierced  his  body  and  put  an  end 

to  his  existence.    He  run  some  time,  however,  after  he  was 

wounded,  till  by  loss  of  blood  he  fainted,  fell  and  was  unable 

to  proceed  farther.     The  savage  monsters  came  up,  several 

times  thrust  a  spear  through  his  body,  took  off  his  scalp  and 

left  him,  food  for  worms!    While  they  were  tearing  his  scalp 

from  his  head,  how  did  his  dying  groans  pierce  the  skies  and 

call  on  Him  who  holds  the  scales  of  justice  to  mark  their  cruelty 

and  avenge  his  blood! 

He  had  spent  the  night  previous  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Havens 

engaged  in  amorous   conversation   with   a  daughter  of  Mr. 

Havens,  who  was  his  choice  companion,  the  intended  partner 

of  his  life. 

"...  what  jealous  cares 
Hang  on  his  parting  soul  to  think  his  love 
Exposed  to  wild  oppression  and  a  herd 
Of  savage  men";  while  himself  lay 
With  his  eyes  uplifted,  fainting,  doomed 
To  wait  and  feel  the  vital  blow. 

By  imagination  we  view  the  fair  survivor  surrounded  by 
the  savage  tribe,  whose  frightful  aspect  threatened  ruin;  her 
soul  overwhelmed  with  fear  and  stung  with  grief,  bereft  of  her 
dearest  friend.  Hear  her  exclaiming  with  sorrowful  accents, 
in  the  language  of  the  poet: 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  15 

"You  sacred  mourners  of  a  nobler  mould, 

Bum  for  a  friend  whose  dear  embraces  hold 

Beyond  all  nature's  ties;    you  that  have  known 

Two  happy  souls  made  intimately  one, 

And  felt  the  parting  stroke;  'tis  you  must  feel. 

The  smart,  the  twinges,  and  the  racks  I  feel; 

This  soul  of  mine,  that  dreadful  wound  has  borne, 

Off  from  its  side  its  dearest  half  is  torn, 

The  rest  lies  bleeding,  and  but  lives  to  mourn." 

They  made  the  house  of  Mr.  Havens  their  rallying  point, 
or  post  of  observation,  and  stationed  a  part  of  their  company 
there  to  guard  their  baggage  and  make  preparations  for  re- 
treat, when  they  had  completed  their  work  of  destruction.  Like 
the  messenger  of  death,  silent  and  merciless,  they  were  scarcely 
seen  till  felt.  Or  if  seen,  filled  the  mind  with  terror,  nor 
often  afforded  opportunity  for  escape.  Moving  with  violent 
steps,  they  proceeded  down  the  first  branch  to  its  mouth, 
while  a  number  armed  with  spears  led  the  van,  and  were 
followed  by  others,  armed  with  muskets  and  scalping  knives. 

The  former  they  called  runners,  who  were  directed  to  kill  all 
those  who  should  be  overtaken  in  an  attempt  to  escape,  while 
the  latter  were  dominated  gunners,  took  charge  of  the  prison- 
ers and  scalped  those  who  were  killed. 

They  had  not  proceeded  far  before  a  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Elias  Button,  being  ignorant  of  their  approach,  made 
his  appearance  in  the  road  but  a  few  rods  from  them.  Espy- 
ing his  danger,  he  turned  and  ran  with  the  greatest  possible 
speed  in  his  power  to  escape  their  cruel  hands.  The  savage 
tribe  pursued  him  with  their  usual  agility;  soon  overtook  the 
trembUng  youth;  pierced  his  body  with  their  spears,  took  off 
his  scalp  and  left  him  weltering  in  his  gore!  Young,  vigorous 
and  healthy,  and  blest  with  the  brightest  hopes  of  long  life 
and  good  days,  he  was  overtaken  by  the  merciless  stroke  of 
death,  without  having  a  minute's  warning.  Innocence  and 
bravery  were  no  shield,  nor  did  activity  secure  him  a  safe  re- 
treat.   That  they  might  be  enabled  to  fall  upon  the  inhabitants 


l6  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

unawares  and  thereby  secure  a  greater  number  of  prisoners, 
as  well  as  procure  a  greater  quantity  of  plunder,  they  kept 
profound  silence  till  they  had  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
branch. 

After  killing  Pember  and  Button  and  taking  such  plun- 
der as  most  pleased  their  fancy,  they  proceeded  to  the  house 
of  Joseph  Kneeland,  who  resided  about  half  a  mile  distant 
from  the  house  of  Mr.  Havens.  Here  they  found  Messrs. 
Simeon  Belknap,  Giles  Gibbs  and  Jonathan  Brown,  together 
with  Joseph  Kneeland  and  his  aged  father,  all  of  whom  they 
made  prisoners.  They  then  went  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Elias 
Curtis,  where  they  took  Mr.  Curtis,  John  Kent  and  Peter  Ma- 
son. Mrs.  Curtis  had  just  waked  from  the  slumbers  of  the 
night,  and  was  about  dressing  herself  as  she  sat  upon  her  bed, 
when  the  savage  monsters  entered  the  door  and  one  of  them 
instantly  flew  at  her  with  a  large  knife  in  his  hand  and  seized 
her  by  the  neck,  apparently  intending  to  cut  her  throat.  While 
in  the  very  attitude  of  inflicting  the  fatal  wound,  the  murder- 
ous wretch  discovered  a  string  of  gold  beads  around  her  neck, 
which  attracted  his  attention  and  prevented  the  dreadful  stroke 
of  death.  Thus  his  avidity  for  gold  allayed  his  thirst  for  human 
blood.  His  raging  passions  were  suddenly  cooled;  curiosity 
restrained  his  vengeance  and  spared  the  life  of  the  frightened 
object  of  his  cruelty.  He  had  put  the  knife  to  her  throat  and 
eternity  seemed  open  to  her  view,  but  instead  of  taking  her 
life,  he  only  took  her  beads  and  left  her  rejoicing  at  her  de- 
liverance. The  barbarous  looks  of  the  wicked  crew  bespoke 
their  malignant  designs  and  caused  horror  and  dismay  to  fill 
the  minds  of  all  who  beheld  them.  But  alas!  who  can  tell 
what  horror  thrilled  the  bosom  of  this  trembling  woman! 
What  dreadful  pangs  were  made  to  pierce  her  soul!  Behold 
the  tawney  wretch,  with  countenance  wild,  and  awful  grimaces, 
standing  by  her  bedside,  holding  her  by  the  throat  with  one 
hand  and  the  weapon  of  death  in  the  other!  See,  standing 
around  her  a  crowd  of  brutal  savages,  the  sons  of  violence; 
foul  tormentors.    In  vain  do  I  attempt  to  paint  the  scene. 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  17 

Nor  will  I  pretend  to  describe  the  feelings  of  a  kind  and  ten- 
der mother,  who,  reposing  in  the  arms  of  sleep,  with  her  in- 
fant at  her  bosom,  is  roused  from  her  slumbers  by  the  approach 
of  a  tribe  of  savage  Indians  at  her  bedside. 

"No  dangers  seen;  no  fear  to  raise  a  sigh; 

No  dangers  fear'd;   and  yet  was  ruin  nigh. 

Dark  was  the  night,  and  scarce  a  trembling  breeze 

Was  heard  to  whisper  thro'  the  neighboring  trees, 

When  to  sleep's  arms  the  household  was  withdrawn, 

To  rest  in  safety  till  the  morrow's  dawn; 

The  morrow  dawns  and  blushes  at  the  sight 

Of  bloody  scenes,  that  shun  detecting  light; 

Urg'd  by  a  nameless  thirst  for  human  prey, 

A  savage  hand  approach'd  where  beauty  lay; 

Where  innocence,  and  youth,  and  age  reclin'd 

In  sleep,  refreshing  as  the  Southern  wind. 

The  sire,  though  bending  with  a  load  of  years, 

To  save  his  daughter — every  danger  dares; 

By  some  rough  hand  this  ancient  hero  dies — 

The  trembling  mother  for  her  husband  sighs; 

Sighs  and  entreats  to  spare  her  infant's  life, 

Her  sighs  they  hear,  and  spare  him — with  the  knife. 

Pleas'd  with  the  charm  of  beauty  drenched  in  tears, 

The  savage  tribe  to  gloomy  desarts  hears 

The  weeping  mother  void  of  all  defence, 

Save  what  she  hoped  from  Heav'n  and  innocence." 

To  prevent  an  alarm  from  being  sounded  abroad,  they  com- 
manded the  prisoners  to  keep  silence  on  pain  of  death.  While 
the  afflicted  inhabitants  beheld  their  property  wasted,  and 
their  lives  exposed  to  swell  with  grief.  But  they  were  de- 
barred the  privilege  of  making  known  their  sufferings  to  their 
nearest  friends,  or  even  to  pour  out  their  cries  of  distress, 
while  surrounded  by  the  savage  band  whose  malevolent  ap- 
pearance could  not  fail  to  spread  fear  and  distress  in  every 
bosom.  They  plundered  every  house  they  found  till  they  ar- 
rived at  the  mouth  of  the  branch.  Here  the  commander,  a 
British  officer,  took  his  stand  with  a  small  party  of  Indians, 
while  some  went  up,  and   others   down,  on  each  side  of   the 


l8  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

river,  to  complete  the  work  of  destruction.  They  had  already 
taken  several  horses,  which  some  of  them  rode,  to  facilitate 
their  march  and  enable  them  to  overtake  those  who  attempted 
to  make  their  escape.  Frightened  at  the  horrible  appearance 
of  their  riders,  who  were  in  no  way  qualified  to  manage 
them,  the  horses  served  rather  to  impede  than  hasten  their 
progress. 

Instigated  by  "the  powers  of  darkness";  fired  with  rage; 
eager  to  obtain  that  booty  which  they  acquired  by  the  pillage 
of  houses ;  and  fearful  at  the  same  time,  that  they  should  them- 
selves fall  a  prey  to  the  American  forces,  they  pursued  their 
ravages  with  infuriated  zeal  and  violence  and  horror  attended 
their  movement. 

"Uproar,  revenge  and  rage,  and  hate  appear 
In  all  their  murderous  forms;  and  flame  and  blood 
And  sweat  and  dust  array  the  broad  campaign 
In  horror;   hasty  feet,  and  sparkling  eyes, 
And  all  the  savage  passions  of  the  soul, 
Engage  in  the  warm  business  of  the  day." 

Gen.  Elias  Stevens,  who  resided  in  the  first  house  on  the  river 
above  the  mouth  of  the  branch,  had  gone  down  the  river  about 
two  miles,  and  was  engaged  at  work  with  his  oxen  and  cart. 
While  busily  employed  in  loading  his  cart,  casting  his  eye 
up  the  river  he  beheld  a  man  approaching,  bareheaded,  with 
his  horse  upon  the  run,  who,  seeing  Gen.  Stevens,  cried  out: 
"For  God's  sake,  turn  out  your  oxen,  for  the  Indians  are  at 
the  mill."  *  Gen.  Stevens  hastened  to  unyoke  his  oxen,  turned 
them  out,  and  immediately  mounted  his  horse  and  started 
to  return  to  his  family,  filled  with  fearful  apprehensions  for 
the  fate  of  his  beloved  wife,  and  tender  offspring!  He  had 
left  them  in  apparent  safety,  reposing  in  the  arms  of  sleep. 
Having  proceeded  on  his  return,  about  half  way  home,  he 
met    Capt.    Joseph   Parkhurst,  who    informed   him   that   the 

*The  Mills,  to  which  he  referred,  owned  by  a  Mr.  Morgan,  were  situated 
on  the  first  branch  near  its  mouth. 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  19 

Indians  were  but  a  few  rods  distant,  in  swift  pursuit  down  the 
river  and  that  unless  he  returned  immediately  he  would  inevi- 
tably fall  into  their  hands. 

Apprized  of  his  danger  he  turned  and  accompanied  the 
captain  down  the  river.  Conjugal  and  paternal  affection 
alone  can  suggest  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader  what  were 
the  feelings  of  Gen.  Stevens,  when  compelled  for  his  own 
safety,  to  leave  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  their  little  ones,  to 
the  mercy  of  a  savage  foe! 

What  pains  did  he  feel  when  he  found  himself  deprived 
of  all  possible  means  to  afford  them  relief!  Nor  could  he  ex- 
pect a  more  favorable  event  than  to  find  them  all  sacrificed  at 
the  shrine  of  savage  barbarity!  Who,  not  totally  devoid  of 
sympathy,  can  refrain  to  drop  a  tear  as  he  reflects  upon  those 
painful  emotions  which  agitated  the  General's  breast,  when  he 
was  forced  to  turn  his  back  upon  his  beloved  family,  while 
thus  exposed  to  danger!  Indeed,  it  was  his  only  source  of 
consolation  that  he  might  be  able  to  afford  assistance  to  his 
defenceless  neighbors,  and  as  they  soon  came  to  the  house  of 
Deacon  Daniel  Rix,  he  there  found  opportunity  to  lend  the 
hand  of  pity.  Gen.  Stevens  took  Mrs.  Rix  and  two  or  three 
children  with  him,  and  they  all  rode  off  as  fast  as  possible  ac- 
companied by  Deacon  Rix  and  several  others  on  foot,  till  they 
arrived  at  the  place  where  the  General  first  received  the  alarm. 
Filled  with  anxiety  for  his  family,  and  not  having  seen  any 
Indians,  Gen.  Stevens,  here  concluded  again  to  return,  hoping 
he  should  be  able  to  reach  home  in  time  to  secure  his  house- 
hold from  danger,  before  the  Indians  arrived.  Leaving  Mrs. 
Rix  and  children  in  the  care  of  a  Mr.  Burroughs  he  started 
for  home  and  had  proceeded  about  half  a  mile  when  he  dis- 
covered the  Indians  in  the  road  ahead  of  him  but  a  few  rods 
distant.  He  quickly  turned  about,  hastened  his  retreat,  soon 
overtook  the  company  he  had  left  and  entreated  them  imme- 
diately to  leave  the  road  and  take  to  the  woods  to  prevent 
being  overtaken.  Those  who  were  on  foot  jumped  over  the 
fence,  hastened  to  the  woods  out  of  sight  of  the  Indians,  where 


20  BURNING   OF   ROYALTON,   VT.,    BY   INDIANS 

they  remained   in  safety  undiscovered  by  the  savage  foe,  who 
kept    the  road  in  pursuit    of    General  Stevens.     He    passed 
down  the  road  about  half  a  mile,  and  came  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Tilly  Parkhurst,  his  father-in-law.     Seeing  his  sister  engaged 
in  milking  by  the  barn,  he  told  her  "to  leave  her  cow  immedi- 
ately or  the  Indians  would  have  her,"  and  left  her  to  secure  her 
own  retreat.     They  were  now  in  plain  sight,  not  more  than 
eighty  or  a  hundred  rods  off.     The  road  was  full  of  them,  run- 
ning like  bloodhounds.     The  General  rode  to  the  house,  told 
them  to  run  for  their  lives,  and  proceeded  to  warn  others  who 
lived  contiguous.     By  this  time  the  way  was  filled  with  men, 
women  and  children  and  a  large  body  of  Indians  in  open  view 
but  just  behind  them.     The  savage  tribe  now  began  to  make 
the  surrounding  wilderness  re-echo  with  their  frightful  yells. 
Frightened  and  alarmed  for  their  safety,   children  clung  to 
their  parents,  and  half  distracted  mothers,  filled  with  fearful 
apprehensions  of  approaching  destruction,  were  heard  to  make 
the  air  resound  with  their  cries  of  distress!     General  Stevens 
endeavored  to  get  them  into  the  woods  out  of  sight  of  the  Ind- 
ians.    Fear  had  usurped  the  power  of  reason  and   wisdom's 
voice  was  drowned  in  the  torrent  of  distraction.     All  was  at 
stake.     The  enemy  hard  by,  and  fast  approaching.     Defence- 
less mothers  with    helpless  infants  in  their  arms    fleeing    for 
their  lives.     Despair  was  spread  before  them,  while  the  roaring 
flood  of  destruction  seemed  rolling  behind  them.     Few  could 
be  persuaded  to  go  into  the  woods  and  most  of  them  kept  the 
road    till  they  arrived  at  the  house  of  Capt.  E.  Parkhurst  in 
Sharon.     Here  they  halted  a  moment  to  take  breath,  hoping 
they  should  not  be  pursued  any  farther.     The  Indians  being 
taken  up  in  plundering  the  houses,  had  now  fallen  considera- 
bly in  the  rear.     But  the  unhappy  victims  of  distress  had  not 
long  been  here  when  the  cruel  pursuers  again  appeared  in 
sight. 

Screaming  and  crying,  now  witnessed  the  horrors  of  that 
dreadful  scene.  Groans  and  tears  bespoke  the  feelings  of  a 
heart  agitated  with  fear  and  swollen  with  grief.    There  was 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  21 

no  time  to  be  lost.  While  they  waited  they  waited  for  de- 
struction. Children  hanging  to  their  mothers'  clothes;  mothers 
inquiring  what  they  should  do  and  calling  for  assistance;  floods 
of  tears  and  piercing  shrieks  all  presented  to  view  a  most  pain- 
ful scene.  Seeing  the  Indians  approaching  with  hideous  yells 
that  thrilled  the  heart  of  everyone,  Gen.  Stevens  put  his  mother 
and  sister  upon  his  own  horse;  Capt.  Joseph  Parkhurst  put 
Mrs.  Rix  and  three  of  her  children  upon  another  horse,  with- 
out a  bridle,  and  ordered  them  to  hasten  their  flight.  There 
yet  remained  the  wife  of  Capt.  E.  Parkhurst,  who  stood  in 
the  most  critical  situation  in  which  a  woman  can  be  placed; 
begging  and  crying  for  help;  surrounded  by  six  small  children, 
clinging  to  her  clothes,  and  pleading  with  her  for  protection. 
Alas!  how  awful  was  the  spectacle,  how  affecting  the  scene! 
To  see  a  woman  in  this  deplorable  condition,  pleading  for 
succor  when  none  could  help;  when  safety  and  support  had 
fled;  and  dangers  rushed  upon  her!  A  heart  not  devoid  of 
sympathy  could  not  fail  to  weep.  Conscious  of  her  wretched 
situation,  feeling  for  her  dear  children,  being  told  there  was 
no  probability  of  her  escape,  gathering  her  little  ones  around 
her  she  wept  in  bitterness  of  soul;  tears  of  pity  ran  down  her 
cheeks  while  she  waited  the  approach  of  the  savage  tribe  to 
inflict  upon  her  whatever  malice  could  invent,  or  inhumanity 
devise. 

Her  husband,  to  whom  she  fain  would  have  looked  for 
protection,  was  gone  from  home  when  all  her  woes  fell  upon 
her.  Well  might  she  say,  "Therefore  are  my  loins  filled  with 
pain;  pangs  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  as  the  pangs  of  a 
woman  that  travaileth,  my  heart  panted,  fearfulness  affrighted 
me;  the  night  of  my  pleasure  hath  he  turned  into  fear  unto 
me."  While  Mrs.  Parkhurst  saw  her  friends  and  neighbors 
fleeing  from  her  and  beheld  the  Indians  approaching  with 
impetuous  step,  her  bosom  throbbed  with  anguish;  horror 
seized  her  soul,  and  death,  immediate  death!  both  to  her 
and  her  children,  "stood  thick  about  her,"  threatening  to 
thrust  his  dagger  into  her  aching  heart.     There  was  no  time 


22  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY   INDIANS 

to  decide  on  the  priority  of  claims  to  pity,  or  the  demands  of 
justice.  Those  who  were  nearest  at  hand  first  received  assist- 
ance; not,  however,  without  regard  to  that  affection  which 
arises  from  consanguinity  or  matrimonial  connection.  And 
these  relations  not  only  unite  the  hearts  but  connect  the  hands 
in  scenes  of  distress. 

At  the  time  Gen.  Stevens  put  his  mother  and  his  sister  upon 
his  horse  the  Indians  were  not  eight  rods  from  him.  They, 
in  company  with  Mrs.  Rix  and  her  children,  rode  off  as  fast 
as  possible.  The  general  followed  with  several  others  on 
foot.  Part  of  the  Indians  pursued  them,  while  others  en- 
tered the  house  and  plundered  it  of  its  furniture.  They  tooii 
her  eldest  son  from  her,  then  ordered  her,  with  the  rest  of 
her  children,  to  leave  the  house.  She  accordingly  repaired 
into  the  fields  back  of  the  house  with  five  of  her  children  and 
remained  in  safety  till  they  had  left  the  place.  Soon  after  Gen. 
Stevens  started,  his  dog  came  in  his  way  and  caused  him  to 
stumble  and  fall,  which  so  retarded  his  progress  that  he  was 
obliged  to  flee  to  the  woods  for  safety,  leaving  the  women  and 
children  to  make  the  best  of  their  retreat.  The  Indians  pur- 
sued down  the  road  after  them  with  frightful  yells,  and  soon 
overtook  those  who  were  on  foot.  They  took  Garner  Rix,  son 
of  Deacon  Rix,  a  boy  about  fourteen  years  old,  just  at  the 
heels  of  his  mother's  horse,  while  she  was  compelled  to  wit- 
ness the  painful  sight.  Alas!  What  distress  and  horror  filled 
her  bosom,  when  she,  with  three  of  her  children,  no  less  dear 
than  herself,  fleeing  from  the  savage  foe,  mounted  upon  a  horse 
snorting  with  fear,  having  nothing  but  a  pocket  handkerchief 
in  his  mouth  for  a  bridle,  saw  her  wearied  son  faint  for  want 
of  breath,  fall  a  captive  to  this  barbarous  crew.  Cruel  fate! 
The  trembling  youth,  overwhelmed  with  fear  and  bathed  in 
tears  was  now  torn  from  his  tender  parents  and  compelled  to 
roam  the  wilderness  to  unknown  regions.  Nor  was  the  dis- 
consolate mother  with  her  other  little  ones  left  in  a  much 
more  safe  condition. 

Exposed  and  expecting  every  moment  to  fall  to  the  ground. 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  23 

which,  if  it  proved  not  their  death,  would  leave  them  a  prey 
to  the  savage  monsters.  No  tongue  can  tell  the  pains  she 
felt  nor  pen  describe  the  horrors  of  her  soul  to  behold  her  little 
son  while  fleeing  for  his  life  fall  into  the  hands  of  these  sons 
of  cruelty;  what  kind  and  tender  mother  would  not  feel  her 
heart  to  bleed? 

May  we  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  imagination  and  hear  her 
say: 

"Oh,  infinite  distress!  such  raging  grief 

Should  command  pity,  and  despair  relief. 

Passion,  methinks,  should  rise  from  all  my  groans, 

Give  sense  to  rocks  and  sympathy  to  stones." 

The  Indians  pursued  the  women  and  children  as  far  as 
the  house  of  Mr.  Benedict,  the  distance  of  about  a  mile.  They 
effected  their  escape  though  surrounded  with  dangers  and 
pursued  with  impetuous  and  clamorous  steps.  Here  they  dis- 
covered Mr.  Benedict  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  stream  called 
Broad  Brook,  which  ran  near  the  house.  They  beckoned  to 
have  him  come  over  to  them.  Choosing,  however,  not  to  haz- 
ard the  consequences  of  yielding  to  their  request,  he  turned 
and  ran  a  short  distance  and  hid  himself  under  a  log.  He 
had  not  long  been  in  this  situation  when  these  bloodthirsty 
wretches  came  and  stood  upon  the  log  and  were  heard  by 
him  to  exclaim  in  angry  tone  "if  they  could  find  him  he  should 
feel  the  tomahawk." 

After  standing  upon  the  log  some  time  and  endeavoring 
to  espy  the  concealed  trembling  object  of  their  pursuit,  they 
left  him  and  returned  to  the  house.  Ah!  What  joy  filled  his 
bosom  when  he  saw  these  messengers  of  death  pass  away 
leaving  him  in  safety!  How  must  his  heart  have  glowed  with 
gratitude  towards  the  "Great  Preserver  of  men,"  at  this  un- 
expected deliverance  from  the  most  imminent  danger.  His  joys 
were  not  unmingled  with  sorrow  as  the  fell  destroyers  were 
still  at  his  house,  committing  ravages  and  wasting  his  property. 
But  no  man  can  be  supposed  to  put  his  property  in  competition 
with  his  life. 


24  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY   INDIANS 

The  Indians  pursued  down  the  river  about  forty  rods  farther, 
where  they  made  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Avery,  prisoner 
and  then  concluded  to  return. 

While  they  were  at  the  house  of  Tilly  Parkhurst,  afore- 
mentioned, which  was  about  six  miles  from  the  place  they  en- 
tered Royalton,  his  son,  Phineas  Parkhurst,  who  had  been  to 
alarm  the  people  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  just  as  he  en- 
tered the  stream  on  his  return,  discovered  the  Indians  in  his 
father's  door.  Finding  himself  in  danger,  he  immediately 
turned  to  go  back  and  the  Indians  just  at  this  time  happened 
to  see  him  and  fired  upon  him.  This  was  the  first  gun  they 
fired  after  they  entered  the  town.  The  ball  entered  his  back, 
went  through  his  body,  came  out  under  his  ribs  and  lodged  in  the 
skin.  Notwithstanding  the  wound  he  was,  however,  able  to 
ride,  and  continued  his  retreat  to  Lebanon  in  the  state  of  New 
Hampshire,  the  distance  of  about  sixteen  miles  with  very  little 
stop,  supporting  the  ball  between  his  fingers.  He  now  resides 
in  that  town  and  sustains  the  character  of  a  useful  physician 
and  an  industrious,  independent  farmer. 

That  party  of  Indians  which  went  down  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river  extended  their  ravages  as  far  as  the  house  of  Capt. 
Gilbert  in  Sharon,  where  a  public  house  is  now  kept  by  Capt. 
Dana.  Here  they  took  a  nephew  of  Capt.  Gilbert,  by  the 
name  of  Nathaniel  Gilbert,  a  boy  about  fifteen  years  of  age. 
They  now  resolved  to  return  and  commenced  that  waste 
of  property  which  tracked  their  progress.  As  they  retraced  their 
steps  they  set  fire  to  all  the  buildings  they  found  of  every  de- 
scription. They  spread  desolation  and  distress  wherever  they 
went.  Houses  filled  with  furniture  and  family  supplies  for  the 
vdnter;  barns  stored  with  the  fruits  of  industry  and  fields 
stocked  with  herds  of  cattle,  were  all  laid  waste. 

They  shot  and  killed  fourteen  fat  oxen  in  one  yard,  which, 
in  consequence  of  the  inhabitants  being  dispersed,  were  wholly 
lost.  Cows,  sheep  and  hogs,  and  indeed  every  creature  de- 
signed by  the  God  of  nature  to  supply  the  wants  of  man  which 
came  within  their  sight,  fell  a  prey  to  these  dreadful  spoilers. 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  25 

Parents  torn  from  their  children;  husbands  separated  from 
their  wives;  and  children  snatched  from  their  parents,  presented 
to  view  an  indescribable  scene  of  wretchedness  and  distress. 
Some  were  driven  from  their  once  peaceful  habitations  into  the 
adjacent  wilderness  for  safety,  there  to  wait  the  destruction 
of  their  property  stung  with  the  painful  reflection  that  their 
friends,  perhaps  a  kind  father  and  affectionate  brother,  were 
made  captives  and  compelled  to  travel  with  a  tawney  herd  of 
savage  men  into  the  wild  regions  of  the  north  to  be  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  enemies  and  undergo  the  fatigues  and  dan- 
gers of  a  wretched  captivity;  or,  what  was  scarcely  more  to 
be  deplored,  learn  with  pain,  that  they  had  fallen  the  unhappy 
victims  to  the  relentless  fury  of  the  savage  tribe  and  were  welter- 
ing in  their  gore,  where  there  was  no  eye  to  pity  or  friendly  hand 
to  administer  relief! 

The  third  party  of  Indians,  who  went  up  the  river,  first 
came  to  the  house  of  Gen.  Stevens.  Daniel  Havens,  whose 
escape  I  have  mentioned,  went  directly  there  and  warned  the 
family  of  their  danger.  Trembling  with  fear  he  only  stepped 
into  the  house,  told  them  that  "the  Indians  were  as  thick  as 

the  D 1  at  their  house,"  and  turned  and  went  directly  out, 

leaving  the  family  to  secure  their  own  retreat. 

Mrs.  Stevens  and  the  family  were  in  bed,  excepting  her 
husband,  who,  as  before  stated,  had  gone  down  the  river, 
about  two  miles  from  home.  She  immediately  arose  from  her 
bed,  flung  some  loose  clothes  over  her,  took  up  her  child,  and 
had  scarcely  got  to  the  fire  when  a  large  body  of  Indians  rushed 
in  at  the  door.  They  immediately  ransacked  the  house  in 
search  of  men  and  then  took  the  beds  and  bedding,  carried 
them  out  of  doors,  cut  open  the  bedticks  and  threw  the  feathers 
into  the  air.  This  made  them  sport  enough.  Nor  did  they 
fail  to  manifest  their  infernal  gratification  by  their  tartarian 
shouts  and  disingenuous  conduct. 

Mrs.  Stevens  entreated  them  to  let  her  have  some  clothes 
for  herself  and  child,  but  her  entreaties  were  in  vain.  They 
were  deaf  to  the  calls  of  the  needy,  and  disregarded  the  demands 


26  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY   INDIANS 

of  justice.  Her  cries  reached  their  ears,  but  nothing  could  excite 
one  single  glow  of  sympathy.  Her  destitute  and  suffering 
condition  was  plain  before  their  eyes,  but  they  were  blind  to 
objects  of  compassion.  Alas!  What  bitterness  of  soul;  what 
anguish;  what  heart  rending  pangs  of  fear,  distressed  her 
tender  bosom.  Surrounded  by  these  pitiless,  terrific  monsters 
in  human  shape,  with  her  little  offspring  in  her  arms,  whose 
compassion,  exposed  to  the  raging  fire  of  savage  jealousy, 
unquenchable  by  a  mother's  tears,  anxious  for  the  safety  and 
mourning  the  absence  of  her  bosom  friend,  the  husband  of  her 
youth;  it  is  beyond  the  powers  of  imagination  to  conceive  or 
language  to  express  the  sorrows  of  her  heart 

At  one  moment  securely  reposing  in  the  arms  of  sleep,  with 
her  darling  infant  at  her  breast,  the  next  amid  a  savage  crew, 
whose  wicked  hands  were  employed  in  spreading  desolation 
and  mischief;  whose  mortal  rage,  exposed  her  to  the  arrows 
of  death,  after  plundering  the  house,  they  told  Mrs.  Stevens  to 
"begone  or  they  would  bum."  She  had  been  afraid  to  make 
any  attempt  to  escape,  but  now  gladly  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity. She  hastened  into  the  adjacent  wilderness,  carrying 
her  child,  where  she  tarried  till  the  Indians  had  left  the  town. 

"Strangers  to  want!    Can  ye,  presumptuous  say, 
No  cloud  shall  arise  to  overcast  your  day? 
Time  past  hath  prov'd  how  fleeting  riches  are, 
Time  future  to  this  truth  may  witness  bear; 
By  means  no  human  wisdom  can  foresee, 
Or  power  prevent,  a  sudden  change  may  be. 
War  in  its  route  may  plunder  all  your  store 
And  leave  you  friendless,  desolate  and  poor." 

A  boy  by  the  name  of  Daniel  Waller  Noyes,  about  fourteen 
years  old,  who  lived  with  Gen.  Stevens,  hearing  the  alarm 
given  by  Mr.  Havens,  set  out  immediately  to  go  to  the  General 
and  give  him  the  information.  He  had  proceeded  about  a  half 
mile  when  he  met  the  Indians,  was  taken  prisoner  and  carried 
to  Canada. 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  27 

They  left  the  house  and  bam  of  Gen.  Stevens  in  flames  and 
proceeded  up  the  river  as  far  as  Mr.  Durkee's,  where  they 
took  two  of  his  boys  prisoners,  Adam  and  Andrew,  and  carried 
the  former  to  Canada,  who  died  there  in  prison.  Seeing  the 
smoke  arise  above  the  trees  in  the  woods  adjacent,  the  invaders 
directed  their  course  to  the  spot,  where  they  found  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Prince  Haskell  busily  engaged  in  chopping  for 
the  commencement  of  a  settlement.  Haskell  heard  a  rustling 
among  the  leaves  behind  him,  and  turning  around  beheld 
two  Indians  but  a  few  feet  from  him.  One  stood  with  his 
gun  pointed  directly  at  him  and  the  other  in  the  attitude  of 
throwing  a  tomahawk.  Finding  he  had  no  chance  to  escape, 
he  delivered  himself  up  as  prisoner  and  was  also  carried  to 
Canada.  He  returned  in  about  one  year  after  enduring  the 
most  extreme  sufferings  in  his  wanderings  through  the  wilder- 
ness on  his  way  home. 

A  Mr.  Chafee,  who  lived  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hendee,  started 
early  in  the  morning  to  go  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Elias  Curtis  to 
get  his  horse  shod.  On  his  way  he  saw  Mr.  John  Kent  ahead 
of  him  who  was  upon  the  same  business,  wishing  to  put  in  his 
claim  before  Mr.  Chafee,  he  rode  very  fast  and  arrived  at  the 
house  first.  He  had  scarcely  dismounted  from  his  horse  when 
the  Indians  came  out  of  the  house,  took  him  by  the  hair  of  his 
head  and  pulled  him  over  backwards.  Seeing  this,  Mr.  Chafee 
immediately  dismounted,  jumped  behind  the  shop,  hastened 
away,  keeping  such  a  direction  as  would  cause  the  shop  to  hide 
his  retreat.  Thus  he  kept  out  of  sight  of  the  Indians,  effected 
his  escape  and  returned  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Hendee.  On 
receiving  the  alarm  given  by  Mr.  Chafee,  Mr.  Hendee  directed 
his  wife  to  take  her  little  boy  about  seven  years  old  and  her  little 
daughter,  who  was  still  younger,  and  hastened  to  one  of  their 
neighbors  for  safety,  while  he  should  go  to  Bethel,  the  town  west 
of  Royalton  and  give  the  alarm  at  the  fort. 

Mrs.  Hendee  had  not  proceeded  far  when  she  was  met  by 
several  Indians  upon  the  run,  who  took  her  little  boy  from  her. 
FeeHng  anxious  for  the  fate  of  her  child  she  inquired  what 


28  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

they  were  going  to  do  with  him.  They  replied  that  they  should 
make  a  soldier  of  him;  and  then  hastened  away,  pulhng  him 
along  by  the  hand,  leaving  the  weeping  mother  with  her  little 
daughter,  to  witness  the  scene  and  hear  the  piercing  shrieks  of 
her  darling  son. 

This  leads  me  to  notice  one  instance  of  female  heroism, 
blended  with  benevolence,  displayed  by  Mrs.  Hendee,  whose 
name  deserves  ever  to  be  held  in  remembrance  by  every  friend 
of  humanity. 

She  was  now  separated  from  her  husband  and  placed  in 
the  midst  of  a  savage  crew  who  were  committing  the  most 
horrid  depredations  and  destroying  every  kind  of  property 
that  fell  within  their  grasp.  Defenceless  and  exposed  to  the 
shafts  of  envy  or  the  rage  of  a  company  of  despicable  tories 
and  brutal  savages,  the  afflicted  mother,  robbed  of  her  only 
son,  proceeded  down  the  river  with  her  tender  little  daughter 
hanging  to  her  clothes,  screaming  with  fear,  pleading  with  her 
mother  to  keep  away  the  Indians! 

In  this  condition,  possessing  uncommon  resolution  and 
great  presence  of  mind,  she  determined  again  to  get  possession 
of  her  son.  As  she  passed  down  the  river  she  met  several 
tories  who  were  with  the  Indians  of  whom  she  continued  to 
inquire  what  they  intended  to  do  with  the  children  they  had 
taken  and  received  an  answer  that  they  should  kill  them.  Still 
determined  not  to  part  with  her  son,  she  passed  on  and  soon 
discovered  a  large  body  of  Indians  stationed  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  Wishing  to  find  the  commanding  officer  and 
supposing  him  to  be  there,  she  set  out  to  cross  the  river,  and 
just  as  she  arrived  at  the  bank  an  old  Indian  stepped  ashore. 
He  could  not  talk  EngHsh,  but  requested  by  signs  to  know 
where  she  was  going.  She  signified  that  she  was  going  to 
cross,  when  he,  supposing  she  intended  to  deliver  herself  up 
to  them  as  a  prisoner,  kindly  offered  to  carry  her  and  her  child 
across  on  his  back,  but  she  refused  to  be  carried.  He  then  in- 
sisted upon  carrying  her  child  to  which  she  consented.  The 
little  girl  cried  and  said,  "  She  didn't  want  to  ride  the  old  Indian." 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  29 

She  was,  however,  persuaded  to  ride  the  old  Indian  and  they  all 
set  out  to  ford  the  river. 

Having  proceeded  about  half  way  across  they  came  to  deeper 
and  swifter  water  and  the  old  Indian,  patting  the  mother  upon 
the  shoulder,  gave  her  to  understand  that  if  she  would  tarry 
upon  a  rock  near  them  which  was  not  covered  with  water,  till 
he  had  carried  her  child  over,  he  would  return  and  carry  her  also. 
She  therefore  stopped  and  sat  upon  the  rock  till  he  had  carried 
her  daughter  and  set  her  upon  the  opposite  shore;  when  he 
returned  and  took  her  upon  his  back,  lugged  her  over  and  safely 
landed  her  with  her  child. 

Supported  by  a  consciousness  of  the  justice  of  her  cause, 
braving  every  danger  and  hazarding  the  most  dreadful  conse- 
quences, not  excepting  her  own  life  and  that  of  her  children, 
she  now  sat  out  to  accomplish  her  object. 

She  hastened  to  the  commanding  officer  and  boldly  inquired 
of  him  what  he  intended  to  do  with  her  child.  He  told  her 
that  it  was  contrary  to  orders  to  injure  women  and  children. 
"Such  boys  as  should  be  taken,"  he  said,  "would  be  trained 
for  soldiers,  and  would  not  be  hurt." 

"You  know,"  said  she,  in  reply,  "that  these  little  ones  can- 
not endure  the  fatigues  of  a  march  through  the  vast  wilderness, 
which  you  are  calculated  to  pass.  And  when  their  trembling 
limbs  shall  fail  to  support  their  feeble  bodies  and  they  can 
no  longer  go,  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping  knife  will  be  the 
only  relief  you  will  afford  them !  Instead  of  falling  into  a  moth- 
er's arms,  and  receiving  a  mother's  tender  care,  you  will  yield 
them  into  the  arms  of  death,  and  earth  must  be  their  pillow, 
where  the  howling  wilderness  shall  be  their  only  shelter — truly 
a  shelter  from  a  mother's  tears,  but  not  from  the  jaws  of  wild 
beasts,  nor  a  parent's  grief.  And  give  me  leave  to  tell  you," 
added  she,  "were  you  possessed  of  a  parent's  love — could  you 
feel  the  anguish  of  a  mother's  heart,  at  the  loss  of  her  '  first  bom,' 
her  darling  son,  torn  from  her  bosom,  by  the  wicked  hands  of 
savage  men,  no  entreaties  would  be  required  to  obtain  the  re- 
lease of  my  dear  child!" 


30  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY   INDIANS 

Horton  replied  that  the  Indians  were  an  ungovernable  race, 
and  would  not  be  persuaded  to  give  up  anything  they  should 
see  fit  to  take. 

"You  are  their  commander,"  continued  she,  "and  they  must 
and  will  obey  you.  The  curse  will  fall  upon  you  for  whatever 
crime  they  may  commit,  and  all  the  innocent  blood  they  shall 
here  shed,  will  be  found  on  your  skirts  'when  the  secrets  of 
men's  hearts  shall  be  made  known,'  and  it  will  then  cry  for 
vengeance  on  your  head!" 

Melted  into  tears  at  this  generous  display  of  maternal  af- 
fection, the  infamous  destroyer  felt  a  relenting  in  his  bosom, 
bowed  his  head  under  the  weight  of  this  powerful  eloquence 
and  simple  boldness  of  the  brave  heroine,  and  assured  her  that 
he  would  deliver  her  child  up,  when  the  Indians  arrived  with 
him.  The  party  who  took  him  had  not  yet  returned.  When 
he  arrived,  Horton,  with  much  difficulty,  prevailed  on  the 
Indians  to  deliver  him  up.  After  she  had  gained  possession  of 
him  she  set  out,  leading  him  and  her  little  girl  by  the  hand, 
and  hastened  away  with  speed,  while  the  mingled  sensations 
of  fear,  joy  and  gratitude,  filled  her  bosom.  She  had  not  gone 
more  than  ten  rods,  when  Horton  followed  and  told  her  to  go 
back  and  stay  till  the  scouting  parties  had  returned,  lest  they 
should  again  take  her  boy  from  her.  She  accordingly  returned 
and  tarried  with  the  Indians  till  they  all  arrived  and  started  for 
Canada.  While  she  was  there,  several  of  her  neighbors'  chil- 
dren about  the  same  age  of  her  own,  were  brought  there  as 
captives.  Possessing  benevolence  equal  to  her  courage,  she 
now  made  suit  for  them  and,  by  her  warm  and  affectionate 
entreaties,  succeeded  in  procuring  their  release.  While  she 
waited  for  their  departure,  sitting  upon  a  pile  of  boards,  with 
the  little  objects  of  charity  around  her,  holding  fast  to  her 
clothes,  with  their  cheeks  wet  with  tears  an  old  Indian  came 
and  took  her  son  by  the  hand  and  endeavored  to  get  him  away. 
She  refused  to  let  him  go  and  held  him  fast  by  the  other  hand 
till  the  savage  monster  violently  waved  his  cutlass  over  her 
head,  and  the  piercing  shrieks  of  her  beloved  child  filled  the 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  31 

air.  This  excited  the  rage  of  the  barbarous  crew,  so  much 
so  as  to  endanger  her  own  and  the  life  of  the  children  around 
her,  and  compelled  her  to  yield  him  into  his  hands.  She 
again  made  known  her  grievance  to  Horton,  when,  after  con- 
siderable altercation  with  the  Indians,  he  obtained  her  son  and 
delivered  him  to  her  a  second  time;  though  he  might  be  said 
to  "fear  not  God  nor  regard  man." 

Thus  like  the  unfortunate  widow  who  "troubled  the  un- 
just judge"  this  young  woman  obtained  the  release  of  nine 
small  boys  from  a  wretched  captivity,  which  doubtless  would 
have  proved  their  death.  She  led  eight  of  them  away,  together 
with  her  daughter,  all  hanging  to  her  own  clothes,  and  to  each 
other,  mutually  rejoicing  at  their  dehverance.  The  other 
whose  name  was  Andrew  Durkee,  whom  the  Indians  had  car- 
ried to  the  house  of  Mr.  Havens,  was  there  released  according 
to  the  agreement  of  Horton  with  Mrs.  Hendee,  and  sent  back, 
on  account  of  his  lameness. 

Being  told  that  the  great  bone  in  his  leg  had  been  taken  out, 
in  consequence  of  a  fever  sore,  an  old  Indian  examined  it  and 
cried  out,  "No  boon!  no  go!"  and  giving  him  a  blanket  and  a 
hatchet,  sent  him  back. 

*  Mrs.  Hendee  carried  two  of  the  children  across  the  river 
on  her  back,  one  at  a  time,  and  the  others  waded  through  the 
water  with  their  arms  around  each  others'  neck.  After  cross- 
ing the  river  she  traveled  about  three  miles  with  them  and  en- 
camped for  the  night,  "Gathering  them  around  her  as  a  hen 
gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings." 

The  names  of  the  children  who  were  indebted  to  her  for  their 
release  from  the  savage  tribe,  were  Michael  Hendee,  Roswell 
Parkhurst,   son  of  Capt.   Ebenezer  Parkhurst,  Andrew   and 

Sheldon  Durkee,  Joseph  Rix,  Rufus  and Fish,  Nathaniel 

Evans  and  Daniel  Downer.  The  latter  received  such  an  af- 
fright from  the  horrid  crew  that  he  was  ever  afterwards  unable 
to  take  care  of  himself,  wholly  unfit  for  business  and  lived  for 
many  years  wandering  from  place  to  place,  a  solemn,  though 

♦Mrs.  Hendee  was  at  this  time  27  years  of  age. 


32  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

silent  witness  of  the  distress  and  horror  of  that  dreadful 
scene. 

Mrs.  Hendee,  now  (1818)  lives  in  Sharon,  where  the 
author  visited  her  and  received  the  foregoing  statement  of 
this  noble  exploit  from  her  own  mouth.  It  is  also  corrobo- 
rated by  several  gentlemen  now  living,  who  were  eye  wit- 
nesses. 

She  has  buried  her  first  and  second  husband,  and  now  lives 
a  widow,  by  the  name  of  Moshier.  Her  days  are  almost  gone. 
May  her  declining  years  be  crowned  with  the  reward  due 
her  youthful  deeds  of  benevolence.  She  has  faced  the  most 
awful  dangers  for  the  good  of  mankind  and  rescued  many  from 
the  jaws  of  death! 

In  view  of  the  exceeding  riches  of  that  mercy  which  has 
protected  her  through  such  scenes  of  danger,  may  she  devote 
her  life  to  the  service  of  the  Mighty  God,  and,  at  last,  find  a 
happy  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  Him,  ''who  gave  Himself  a 
ransom  for  all."  And  thus  let  the  children  who  are  endebted 
to  her  bravery  and  benevolence  for  their  lives,  "rise  up  and  call 
her  blessed."  Gratitude  forbids  their  silence.  For,  to  mater- 
nal affection  and  female  heroism  alone,  under  God,  they  owe 
their  deliverance  from  savage  cruelty.  The  boldest  hero  of 
the  other  sex  could  never  have  effected  what  she  accomplished. 
His  approach  to  the  savage  tribe  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  those 
defenceless  children,  most  surely  would  have  brought  upon 
himself  a  long  and  wretched  captivity,  and  perhaps  even  death 
itself. 

The  Indians  having  accomplished  their  nefarious  designs, 
returned  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Havens  with  their  prisoners,  and 
the  plunder  of  houses  which  they  had  devoted  to  destruction. 
Here  was  the  place  where  they  had  commenced  their  ravages. 
The  old  man,  as  before  observed,  having  concealed  himself 
under  a  log  at  the  time  he  espied  the  Indians  in  the  morning 
while  hunting  his  sheep,  still  remained  in  sorrowful  silence 
undiscovered.  He  had  considered  it  unsafe  to  move,  as  a 
party  of  the  crew  had  continued  there  during  the  day,  and  had 


OCTOBER    1 6,   1780  33 

twice  come  and  stood  upon  the  log  under  which  he  lay  without 
finding  him. 

After  collecting  their  plunder  together  and  distributing  it 
among  them  they  burned  the  house  and  bam  of  Mr.  Havens 
and  started  for  Canada.  It  was  now  about  2  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  They  carried  off  twenty-six  prisoners  from  Royal- 
ton  who  were  all  delivered  up  to  the  British  as  prisoners  of 
war. 

They  all  obtained  their  release  and  returned  in  about  one 
year,  excepting  Adan  Durkee,  who  died  in  camp  at  Montreal. 

Twenty-one  dwelling  houses  and  sixteen  good  new  bams 
were  filled  with  hay  and  grain,  the  hard  earnings  of  industri- 
ous young  farmers,  were  here  laid  in  ashes  by  the  impious  crew. 
They  killed  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  neat  cattle 
and  all  the  sheep  and  swine  they  found.  Hogs  in  their  pens 
and  cattle  tied  in  their  stalls,  were  bumt  alive.  They  destroyed 
all  the  household  fumiture  except  what  they  carried  with 
them.  They  bumt  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Hutchinson,  and 
giving  his  wife  a  hatchet  and  a  flint  together  with  a  quarter 
of  mutton,  told  her  to  "go  and  cook  for  her  men."  This  they 
said,  to  aggravate  her  feelings  and  remind  her  of  her  forlorn 
condition. 

Women  and  children  were  left  entirely  destitute  of  food  and 
every  kind  of  article  necessary  for  the  comforts  of  life;  almost 
naked  and  without  a  shelter,  wandering  from  place  to  place, 
they  beheld  their  cattle  rolling  in  their  blood,  groaning  in  the 
agonies  of  death  and  saw  their  houses  laid  in  ruins.  Discon- 
solate mothers  and  weeping  orphans  were  left  to  wander  through 
the  dreadful  waste  and  lament  the  loss  of  their  nearest  friends, 
comfortless  and  forlorn. 

The  Indians  took  away  about  thirty  horses,  which  were, 
however,  of  Httle  use  to  them,  but  rather  served  to  hinder  their 
progress.  Their  baggage  was  composed  of  almost  every  arti- 
cle commonly  found  among  farmers:  such  as  axes  and  hoes, 
pots,  kettles,  shovels  and  tongs,  sickles,  scythes  and  chains, 
old  side  saddles  and  bed-ticks  emptied  of  their  feathers,  warm- 


34  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

ing  pans,  plates  and  looking-glasses,  and  indeed  nearly  all 
kinds  of  articles  necessary  for  the  various  avocations  of  life. 

On  their  return  they  crossed  the  hills  in  Tunbridge,  lying 
west  of  first  branch,  and  proceeded  to  Randolph,  where  they 
encamped  for  the  first  night  near  the  second  branch,  a  distance 
of  about  ten  miles.  They  had,  however,  previously  dispatched 
old  Mr.  Kneeland,  a  prisoner  whom  they  considered  would  be 
of  the  least  service  to  them,  with  letters  to  the  mihtia,  stating 
that,  "if  they  were  not  followed,  the  prisoners  should  be  used 
well — but  should  they  be  pursued  every  one  of  them  would  be 
put  to  death." 

The  alarm  had  by  this  time  spread  through  the  adjacent 
towns  and  the  scattering,  undisciplined  militia  shouldered  their 
muskets  and  hastened  to  pursue  them.  They  collected  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Evans  in  Randolph,  about  two  miles  south  of 
the  encampment  of  the  Indians.  Here  they  formed  a  company 
consisting  of  about  three  hundred  in  number  and  made  choice 
of  Col.  John  House  of  Hanover,  N.  H.,  for  their  commander. 
They  supposed  the  Indians  had  gone  to  Brookfield,  about  ten 
miles  from  that  place,  up  the  second  branch.  With  this  ex- 
pectation they  took  up  their  march  about  12  o'clock  at  night, 
hoping  they  should  be  able  to  reach  Brookfield  before  light  and 
make  them  prisoners.  They  had  scarcely  started  when  the 
American  front  guard,  to  their  utter  surprise  were  fired  upon 
by  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy.  Several  fires  were  exchanged 
and  one  of  the  Americans  wounded,  when  Col.  House,  through 
cowardice  or  want  of  skill,  commanded  them  to  halt  and  cease 
firing.  He  then  ordered  them  to  make  a  stand  and  kept  them 
in  suspense  till  the  Indians  had  made  their  escape.  To  hasten 
their  flight  the  savage  tribe  were  compelled  to  leave  at  their 
encampment  a  considerable  quantity  of  their  plunder,  nearly 
all  of  the  horses,  and  made  good  their  retreat. 

Here  they  killed  two  of  the  prisoners  by  the  name  of  Joseph 
Kneeland  and  Giles  Gibbs.  The  former  was  found  dead  with 
his  scalp  taken  off  and  the  latter  with  a  tomahawk  in  his  head. 

At  daylight  Col.  House  courageously  entered  the  deserted 


OCTOBER    l6,  1780  35 

camp  and  took  possession  of  the  spoil,  but  alas,  the  enemy  were 
gone,  he  knew  not  where!  Urged  by  his  brave  soldiers,  who 
were  disgusted  at  his  conduct,  he  proceeded  up  the  second 
branch  as  far  as  Brookfield  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  and  not 
finding  them,  disbanded  his  men  and  returned. 

Had  Col.  House  possessed  courage  and  skill  adequate  to  the 
duties  of  his  station  he  might  have  defeated  the  enemy,  it  is 
thought,  without  the  least  difficulty  and  made  them  all  prison- 
ers. His  number  was  equal  to  that  of  the  enemy,  well  armed 
with  muskets  and  furnished  with  ammunition.  The  enemy, 
though  furnished  with  muskets,  had  little  ammunition,  and 
were  encumbered  with  the  weight  of  much  guilt  and  a  load 
of  plunder.  They  had  encamped  upon  a  spot  of  ground  which 
gave  the  Americans  all  the  advantage,  and  their  only  safety 
rested  in  their  flight.  The  American  force  consisted  of  undis- 
ciplined militia,  who  promiscuously  assembled  from  differ- 
ent quarters,  but  were  full  of  courage,  animated  by  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  determined  to  obtain  redress  for  the  in- 
juries they  had  received  from  the  barbarous  crew. 

Many  of  them  likewise  had  friends  and  connections  then 
in  possession  of  the  Indians,  to  obtain  whose  freedom,  they 
were  stimulated  to  action.  But  alas!  Their  determination 
failed,  their  hopes  were  blasted;  They  were  forced  to  relin- 
quish their  object,  and  sufifer  their  friends  to  pass  on  and  en- 
dure a  wretched  captivity.  They,  however,  forced  the  Indians 
to  leave  the  stream  and  take  their  course  over  the  hills  between 
the  second  and  third  branch,  which  brought  them  directly 
and  unexpectedly  to  the  house  of  Zadock  Steele,  whom  they 
made  prisoner  and  took  to  Canada. 

Names  of  a  part  of  the  persons  killed  and  taken  at  the  burn- 
ing of  Royalton : 

Zadock  Steele  taken  at  Randolph,  Experience  Davis,  Elias 
Curtis,  J.  Parks,  Moses  Parsons,  Simeon  Belknap,  now  living 
in  Randolph,  Samuel  Pember,  Thomas  Pember,  killed  at  Roy- 
alton, Gamer  Rix,  now  living  in  Royalton;  Daniel  Downer, 
Joseph  Kneeland,   killed   at  the  encampment  at  Randolph; 


36  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

Jonathan  Brown,  now  residing  in  Williamstown ;  Adan  Durkee, 
died  at  Montreal;  Joseph  Havens,  Abijah  Hutchinson,  John 
Hutchinson,  now  living  in  Bethel,  George  Avery,  John  Kent, 
Peter  Mason,  Giles  Gibbs,  killed  at  Randolph,  Peter  Button, 
killed  at  Royalton ;  Nathaniel  Gilbert. 

The  following  persons  were  released  by  the  intercession  of 
Mrs.  Hendee: 

Daniel  Downer,  Jr.,  Andrew  Durkee,  Michael  Hendee, 
Roswel  Parkhurst,  Sheldon  Durkee,  Joseph  Rix,  Rufus  Fish, 
Fish,  Nathaniel  Evans. 


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THE  ROYALTON  LAFAYETTE  SAW  IN   1825 

Fifty  years  after  the  peaceful  valley  had  been  laid  waste 
by  Indians  and  the  inhabitants  scattered  far  and  wide,  a  very 
different  picture  was  presented.  In  place  of  the  once  sparsely 
inhabited  settlement  of  isolated  farm  houses  scattered  among 
the  hills  and  along  the  river  there  had  arisen  a  busy  little  town 
centering  around  its  mill,  stores,  academy  and  church. 

Its  development  is  realized  when  one  recalls  that  five  years 
previous  to  the  fiftieth  anniversary  Royalton  had  been  one  of  the 
six  towns  in  the  state  honored  by  a  visit  from  Lafayette.  What 
the  popular  hero  saw  that  day  has  been  recorded,  and  so  we 
too  have  a  glimpse  into  the  happy  valley.  His  coming  was  by 
invitation  from  the  legislature  of  1824.  On  the  morning  of 
June  25,  1825,  the  brilliant  retinue  entering  the  state  at  Wind- 
sor, Vt.,  was  met  by  Governor  Van  Ness  and  staff.  Royalton 
was  thronged  with  people.  The  Cascadnac  house  was  the 
centre  of  activity,  and  landlord  Col.  Smith,  famed  for  his  gen- 
iality, felt  the  importance  of  the  responsibility  when  he  mar- 
shalled his  forces  in  the  kitchen,  dining  room  and  entire  house 
in  preparation  for  the  entertainment  of  the  distinguished  guest, 
and  that  he  might  know  just  when  to  have  all  in  readiness,  well- 
mounted  youths  of  the  town  were  sent  out  along  the  way  toward 
Windsor  and  stationed  horn  blasts  apart.  At  the  first  sight  of 
the  oncoming  cavalcade  the  signal  blast  was  to  be  given  and 
caught  up  by  the  next  and  the  next  until  the  valley  itself  re- 
echoed with  tidings  that  Lafayette  had  come. 

The  town  was  brilliantly  astir  that  morning.  From  Tun- 
bridge  came  a  full  company  of  cavalry  in  new  uniforms — ^blue 
trousers,  white  vests,  bright  red  coats  and  a  peculiar  shaped 
cap  with  stiff  plumes  of  blue  and  white — no  expense  had  been 


38  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,    BY  INDIANS 

spared  on  these  uniforms;  even  coat  buttons  had  been  ordered 
in  Boston  at  the  expense  of  $37  each. 

Every  building  in  town  was  dedicated  this  day  to  hospital- 
ity. Between  the  church  and  academy,  where  now  runs  the 
railroad,  was  a  long  one-story  wooden  building  without  win- 
dows, but  with  numerous  openings  provided  with  heavy 
wooden  shutters.  One  end  was  partitioned  off  for  a  wood- 
shed, kitchen  and  store-room,  and  the  remainder  with  its  three 
long  tables  and  benches  built  in  the  hall  had  been  dedicated 
to  feasts  on  training  and  other  great  days. 

Here  the  women  of  the  town  were  assembled  ready  to  cater 
to  all  those  not  entertained  at  the  hotel,  and  in  front  of  this 
building  was  formed  a  long  procession  of  school  children  and 
townspeople  led  by  two  five-year-old  boys — Horatio  Nelson 
Smith  and  Dudley  Chase  Denison.  Oel  Billings,  father  of 
Frederick  Billings,  was  marshal  of  the  day. 

Finally  all  was  in  readiness.  Landlord  Smith  stood  on 
the  piazza  listening,  when  suddenly  a  horn  blast  broke  the 
spell  of  waiting.  All  the  echoes  of  the  valley  were  set  flying, 
and  Lafayette's  coming  was  more  triumphantly  announced 
than  it  could  have  been  by  telephone  message  or  telegram. 

Over  the  Woodstock  and  Royalton  turnpike  the  proces- 
sion came,  making  but  one  stop  at  the  toll  bridge,  where  La- 
fayette accepted  a  glass  of  wine. 

At  the  bridge  the  turnpike  veered  across  the  flat  in  front 
of  the  house  at  present  occupied  by  Mr.  Nathan  Hale,  so  the 
village  was  entered  by  what  is  now  known  as  Bridge  street. 

It  was  a  fair  sight  that  met  Lafayette's  eyes — the  singing 
children  advancing  to  meet  him,  the  people  delighting  to  honor 
him,  and  then  the  setting  of  the  scene,  the  river- winding- valley 
and  the  hills  climbing  up  and  up  to  the  sky. 

To  the  children  it  seemed  like  a  wonderful  fairy  tale.  There 
was  the  dazzling  retinue  set  to  the  sound  of  martial  music 
coming  gayly  through  the  bridge  and  up  into  the  heart  of  the 
town.  All  eyes  centered  on  the  quaint  carriage  drawn  by  six 
cream  colored  horses  and  the  man  within,  who  bowed  and 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  39 

smiled  with  courtly  grace.  Directly  following  came  ten  car- 
riages bearing  distinguished  people,  then  the  cavalry  and  the 
eager  outriders  who  had  proclaimed  on  their  horns  the  coming 
of  the  hero. 

From  the  balcony  opposite  the  hotel  Judge  CoUamer  de- 
livered the  address  of  welcome.  After  dinner  Gen.  Lafayette 
reviewed  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  in  town  Jknd  endeared 
himself  to  all  by  calling  those  whom  he  had  met  by  name. 

In  a  happy  speech  he  congratulated  the  people  on  the  beau- 
tiful location  of  the  town.  He  noted  the  energy  and  thrift 
and  indomitable  spirit  of  the  people  and  saw  ample  evidences 
everywhere  that  the  Indians  would  at  that  day  have  found  the 
devastation  of  Royalton  a  very  different  matter  from  what 
they  had  forty-five  years  before. 

(Authority  for  account  of  Lafayette's  visit,  a  paper  read  before  the  Woman's 
Club,  Nov.  18,  1905,  by  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Joiner.) 


THE   50TH  ANNIVERSARY. 

It  was  five  years  after  the  coming  of  Lafayette,  Oct.  16, 
1830,  that  the  people  of  the  valley  met  on  the  village  green  and 
in  a  spirit  of  joyful  gratitude  for  all  the  blessings  that  had  since 
been  vouchsafed  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary.  The 
sentiments  of  all  were  voiced  in  an  original  hymn  sung  by 
Eliza  Skinner  Denison. 

Where  our  fathers  dwelt  midst  dangers, 

Now  their  children  dwell  secure; 
War  and  fear  to  them  are  strangers, 

Hardships  they  no  more  endure. 

Where  the  Indian  warwhoop  sounded, 
Childhood  shouts  ring  o'er  the  plain; 

Where  the  wild  deer  fearless  bounded. 
Wave  the  fields  of  ripened  grain. 

War  from  our  bright  land  is  banished. 

By  our  fathers'  valiant  hands; 
All  our  enemies  are  vanished, 

Peace  presides  o'er  all  our  land. 

God  be  praised,  by  whose  rich  blessing. 

Peace  and  plenty  we  enjoy! 
May  His  mercy  never  ceasing. 

Still  our  hearts  and  tongues  employ! 

Grant  us,  O  our  Great  Creator, 

Hearts  of  gratitude  to  Thee; 
And  through  Christ,  our  Mediator 

Set  our  sin-bound  spirits  freel 


DRAMATIZATION  OF  ZADOCK  STEELE'S  ACCOUNT 

BY  SOLDIERS'  AID   SOCIETY  IN   CIVIL 

WAR  TIME. 

During  the  Civil  War  the  women  of  the  town  were  anxious 
to  make  money  to  send  to  the  "Boys  in  Blue." 

Zadock  Steele's  narrative  was  therefore  staged  by  the  Sol- 
diers' Aid  Society,  April  i,  1863,  in  the  form  of  tableaux  and 
dialogues.  The  band  gave  its  services  and  the  people  gath- 
ered in  the  town  hall  in  such  numbers  that  a  well  filled  purse 
was  sent  to  the  front.  The  eight  scenes  devoted  to  "The 
Burning  of  Royalton"  were  graphically  portrayed  by  the  actors; 
for  then,  as  now,  the  traditions  and  history  of  Oct.  16,  1780, 
were  so  ingrained  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  that  it  seemed 
part  of  their  very  blood. 

The  curtain  went  up  on  an  early  morning  scene  in  a  kitchen 
where  the  mother  was  preparing  breakfast.  Suddenly  a  man 
appeared  at  the  door  and  shouted,  "The  Indians  are  coming!" 
and  then  pandemonium  reigned.  Indians  swarmed  over  the 
stage,  seizing  valuables  and  dragging  the  boys  away.  One 
of  the  chief  characters  was  "Mrs.  Hendee,"  of  course,  and 
the  lines  spoken  by  her  are  full  of  spirit  and  eloquence.  The 
ride  of  Phineas  Parkhurst  was  cleverly  suggested.  "Miss 
Downer"  rushed  in  to  tell  "Mrs.  Belknap"  and  "  Mrs.  Brown" 
that  she  had  seen  the  Indians  shoot  at  Phineas  Parkhurst,  but 
that  he  did  not  fall,  only  pressed  his  hand  to  his  side  and  rode 
away  for  his  hfe. 

At  the  close  of  the  sixth  scene  the  curtain  falls  on  "Mrs. 
Rix"  bewailing  the  seizure  of  her  son  Gamer  by  the  Indians. 

Not  a  cent  of  money  was  spent  on  printing  and  so  far  as  is 
known  the  only  program  of  that  evening  in  existence  today  is 
in  the  possession  of  Miss  Gertrude  Denison.  It  is  written  in 
pencil  on  a  sheet  of  writing  paper  and  is  evidently  intended 
for  the  use  of  the  stage  manager.  Besides  the  program  there 
are  three  written  scenes,  the  ist,  4th  and  6th. 


THE    CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY. 

In  one  hundred  years  the  growth  of  the  township  had  been 
such  that  the  Centennial  Anniversary,  Oct.  i6,  1880,  was  held 
at  South  Royalton,  a  flourishing  branch  of  the  town,  situated 
farther  down  the  White  River  near  the  point  where  the  high- 
way to  Tunbridge  crosses  the  river. 

This  day  was  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  place,  and 
the  presence  of  people  from  the  surrounding  towns  made  the 
attendance  rival  the  great  conventions  at  county  fairs. 

The  celebration  was  distinctive  from  all  others  in  that  it 
was  spectacular.  On  the  heights  above  where  the  railroad 
station  now  is  there  had  been  erected  a  temporary  settlement 
and  more  than  a  hundred  boys  and  men  of  the  town,  masquer- 
ading as  Indians,  decked  with  warpaint  and  feathers  and  bran- 
dishing tomahawks  and  battle  axes,  swooped  down  from  the 
still  higher  heights  and  surrounded  the  dwellings.  Women 
and  children  realistically  rushed  out  and  made  their  escape 
as  best  they  could,  while  the  invading  Indians  drew  out  the 
feather  beds,  tossed  the  feathers  in  air,  wrecked  all  the  fur- 
niture, set  fire  to  the  dwellings  and  then  made  merry  in  a  war 
dance. 

A  temporary  museum  containing  relics  that  had  survived 
the  Indian  raid,  was  an  interesting  feature  of  the  day.  Among 
the  curios  was  the  bullet  extracted  from  Phineas  Parkhurst, 
and  there  were  fragments  of  a  table  just  as  the  Indians  left  it 
after  smashing  things  generally  in  the  home  of  John  Hutchin- 
son. This  table  descended  to  Mrs.  Wm.  Bliss  of  Royalton, 
whose  mother  was  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  infant  daughter. 

Honorable  D.  C.  Denison,  the  orator  of  the  day,  made  an 
able  recapitulation  of  historic  events.  Nothing  tells  the  spirit 
of  this  anniversary  better  than  the  experience  of  one  small 
boy,  Fred  D.  Galup,  who  took  part  as  an  Indian.    As  he  left 


50 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  43 

the  house  early  in  the  morning  he  said:  "Mother,  may  I  'holler' 
and  make  all  the  noise  I  want  to  today?"  "  Yes,"  answered 
the  smiling  mother,  and  it's  family  tradition  that  the  boy 
came  back  at  night  too  tired  to  make  any  more  noise  for  a 
week. 


THE  123RD  ANNIVERSARY. 

Interest  in  the  history  of  the  Indian  raid  upon  the  Vermont 
frontier  was  again  stimulated  at  the  123rd  anniversary  by 
an  article  written  by  Daniel  L.  Burnett,  M.  D.,  South  Royal- 
ton,  Vt.,  and  published  in  the  October  number,  1903,  of  the 
Inter- State  Journal. 

This  article  is  particularly  interesting  in  that  it  not  only 
gives  a  resume  of  the  Zadock  Steele  narrative,  but  careful  re- 
search had  brought  forth  new  facts,  and  the  location  of  many 
of  the  historic  old  farms,  once  pillaged  and  burned,  as  well  as 
various  scenes  of  action  on  that  dramatic  day,  were  identified 
by  photographs  and  in  many  instances  by  the  names  of  the 
present  day  residents. 


PLACES    OF    INTEREST 

LOCATED  BY  DANIEL  L.   BURNETT,  M.  D. 

Photogkaphs  by  Mrs.  Ada  L.  Miller  and  W.  E.  Graham. 

In  the  cemetery  at  South  Tunbridge,  Vt.,  close  beside  the 
country  road  with  its  passersby,  stands  an  old  fashioned  head- 
stone with  this  inscription: 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  45 

PETER    BUTTON 

WAS   KILLED   BY 

THE  INDL^NS 

IN  ROYALTON,   OCT.    1 6, 

1780. 

AGED  30  YEARS. 


Not  far  from  this  cemetery  did  the  hardy  pioneer  receive 
his  death  wound  from  the  savages  and  on  the  farm  adjoining 
his  descendants  Hve  to  this  day. 

The  1 6th  of  October,  1780,  is  a  date  which  will  always  be 
a  landmark  in  Royalton  town  history. 

Early  on  that  Monday  morning  the  settlers  were  surprised 
by  a  mixed  band  of  Indian,  French  and  Tories,  numbering 
about  300  men.  This  body  of  invaders  left  Canada  with  the 
intention  of  falling  upon  Newbury,  Vt.  The  leader  was  a 
Lieut.  Horton  of  the  British  Army,  and  a  Frenchman  by  the 
name  of  LeMott  was  second  in  command.  Their  guide  was 
one  Hamilton,  who  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Americans  at 
the  time  of  General  Burgoyne's  surrender  to  General  Gates  at 
Saratoga.  Hamilton  had  been  at  Newbury  and  Royalton  on 
parole,  and  had  left  the  latter  place  the  preceding  summer  on 
pretence  of  surveying  lands  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state. 


46  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

He,  however,  went  directly  to  Canada  and  was,  probably,  the 
chief  instigator  of  the  raid.  It  is  also  a  tradition  that  he  had 
had  trouble  with  certain  ones  of  the  Royalton  settlers  and 
wished  for  revenge.  However  this  may  be,  the  primary  in- 
tention was  to  fall  upon  and  destroy  Newbury  as  was  before 
stated. 

Their  course  from  Canada  was  up  Lake  Champlain  by  boat 
to  near  the  mouth  of  the  Winooski  river,  thence  following 
the  course  of  this  river  to  about  the  site  of  Montpelier,  where 
the  party  fell  in  with  some  hunters,  who,  learning  that  New- 
bury was  in  danger,  told  them  that  that  place  was  well  forti- 
fied and  a  body  of  soldiers  was  stationed  there.  Thus,  by  a 
false  report,  was  Newbury  saved  the  horrors  that  visited  Roy- 
alton. The  invaders  were  unwilling  to  lose  their  journey,  so 
determined  to  fall  upon  Royalton. 

"Following  up  Onion  River  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Steven's 
branch,  which  empties  into  the  river  at  Montpelier,  they  steered 
their  course  through  Barre,  at  that  time  called  Wildersburgh; 
proceeded  up  Goal  branch  which  forms  a  part  of  Steven's 
branch  and  traveled  over  the  mountains  through  Orange  and 
Washington;  thence  down  the  first  branch  of  White  River 
through  Chelsea  and  Tunbridge  to  Royalton.  They  laid  in 
their  encampment  at  Tunbridge,  not  far  distant  from  Royal- 
ton, during  the  Sabbath." — (Zadock  Steele's  narrative.) 

The  site  of  this  old  Sabbath  Day  encampment  is  on  the 
farm  known  by  the  name  of  the  Adams  Rowell  farm  and  is 
easily  seen  from  the  main  highway  from  South  Royalton  to 
Chelsea.  It  may  be  identified  as  being  about  one  mile  nearly 
directly  west  from  the  highway  at  Lester  Corwin's  near  by 
the  foundation  of  an  old  barn  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Before  day-break  on  this  Monday,  Oct.  i6,  1780,  the  Indians 
surprised  the  settlers.  The  first  place  visited  was  that  of  Mr. 
John  Hutchinson  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Fred  Smith, 
where  John  Hutchinson  and  his  brother,  Abijah  Hutchinson, 
were  taken  prisoners,  and  the  buildings  were  plundered.  Cross- 
ing the  branch  they  came  to  the  home  of  Robert  Havens,  which 


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OCTOBER    1 6,  1780  47 

Stood  on  the  little  eminence  in  the  meadow  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  Lester  Corwin.  Bricks  and  stones  from  the  old 
house  are  still  to  be  found  on  this  site.  Mr.  Havens,  hearing 
some  disturbance  early  in  the  morning  and  thinking  there 
was  trouble  with  his  sheep,  arose  early,  went  upon  the  hill 
to  the  east  of  his  house  and  so  was  gone  when  the  Indians 
came.  Mrs.  Havens,  being  sick  in  bed  at  this  time,  was  taken 
out  of  doors  upon  a  feather  bed  and  left  in  the  yard,  unharmed. 
A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Pember,  the  accepted 
lover  of  Lorenza  Havens,  one  of  Robert  Havens'  daughters, 
attempted  to  escape  by  running, — was  overtaken,  speared, 
and  scalped.  Pember  had  often  said  that  he  could  outrun 
any  Indian,  but  he  received  a  tomahawk  wound  in  his  arm, 
was  tracked  by  means  of  the  blood  and  weakened  by  the 
loss  of  the  blood  and  therefore  was  no  match  for  his  savage 
pursuers,*  Daniel  Havens,  a  son  of  Robert,  made  his 
escape  by  secreting  himself  in  the  bushes  on  the  bank  of  the 
stream. 

Making  the  Hutchinson  and  Havens  Meadows  the  base  of 
operations,  the  savages  scoured  the  adjacent  country. 

At  this  date  the  course  of  the  highways  was  different  than 
at  present.  No  bridge  then  spanned  the  stream  as  there  now 
does  at  South  Tunbridge.  The  highway  passed  along  the 
west  banks  of  the  branch  to  the  farmhouse  now  occupied  by 
George  W.  Ward.  On  the  easterly  side  no  road  was  yet  built 
in  the  valley,  but  the  hill  road  passed  as  high  as  it  now  does, 
and  finally  bore  down  to  the  stream  at  the  Joseph  Dearborn 
place,  thus  meeting  the  road  of  the  westerly  side  of  the  branch 
by  means  of  a  bridge  across  the  stream.  Peter  Button  was 
passing  along  this  hill  road  from  his  home  near  the  cemetery 
and  was  surprised  by  the  savages.  He  attempted  to  make  his 
escape  by  flight  but  was  soon  overtaken,  speared  and  scalped. 
Button  was  killed  in  the  woods  back  of  Joseph  Dearborn's 


*  Pember  was  buried  in  the  Hutchinson  meadow  but  later  his  remains  were 
removed  to  the  old  cemetery  at  Randolph  Center. 


48  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,    BY   INDIANS 

place.  Near  this  savage  death  scene  Robert  Havens  was 
hidden  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  Indians  mistook  Button  for 
Havens  for  whom  they  were  searching. 

After  killing  Pember  and  Button,  and  leaving  a  squad  on 
the  Havens  meadow  to  guard  the  prisoners  and  plunder,  the 
savages  proceeded  down  the  branch  to  its  mouth.  The  home 
of  Joseph  Kneeland,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by- 
George  W.  Ward's  house  was  the  first  to  suffer.  Here  Simeon 
Belknap,  Giles  Gibbs,  Jonathan  Brown,  Joseph  Kneeland 
and  his  aged  father  were  captured.  From  the  Kneeland  place 
the  foe  went  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Elias  Curtis,  who  was  taken 
prisoner,  together  with  John  Kent  and  Peter  Mason.  Tra- 
dition says  that  Mrs.  Curtis  was  awakened  by  their  entrance 
to  the  house  and  one  of  the  savages  approached  the  bed,  seized 
her  by  the  throat  and  apparently  was  about  to  kill  her  with  a 
large  knife,  when,  seeing  her  gold  beads  about  her  neck,  he 
hastily  tore  them  off,  and  thus  was  his  attention  diverted  from 
taking  her  life. 

The  Indians  made  a  stand  on  the  meadows  near  the  mouth 
of  the  branch,  and  from  there  sent  a  party  up  the  White  River 
and  two  parties  down  the  river — one  on.  either  side. 

The  squad  going  up  the  river  went  as  far  as  the  mouth  of 
the  second  branch  of  the  White  River,  plundering  and  taking 
prisoners.  Bethel  was  provided  with  a  fort  with,  probably, 
a  miHtia  company  at  this  time,  and  consequently  the  savages 
dared  go  no  farther  in  that  direction.  There  is  now  standing 
an  outbuilding  on  the  Edward  Rix  farm  that  was  standing 
on  that  eventful  day.  The  timbers  were  then  green,  and,  al- 
though it  was  set  on  fire,  it  did  not  bum.  Mr.  Rix  has  taken 
up  the  original  floor,  the  boards  of  which  were  charred  by 
this  attempt  to  bum  the  building.  Adan  and  Andrew  Durkee 
were  taken  prisoners  at  this  place.  The  former  was  taken  to 
Canada,  where  he  afterwards  died  in  prison,  and  Andrew,  being 
lame,  was  rescued  by  Mrs.  Hendee. 

The  party  of  Indians,  who  went  down  the  east  side  of  White 
River,  proceeded  as  far  as  Sharon  village,  where  a  nephew 


I 


THE    BARN    WHICH    THE    INDIANS   TRIED    TO    BURN. 

(The  smaller  building.)  The  timbers  were  then  green,  and,  although  set  on  fire,  it 
did  not  burn.  Now  standing  on  the  Edward  Rix  farm,  about  three  miles  north-west 
from  South  Royalton,  on  the  direct  road  to  Bethel. 


OLD    KETTLES    FOUND    WHERE    THE    INDIANS    CAMPED. 

The  property  of  Mrs.  Hannah  Benson,  a  grand-daughter  of  Lorenza  Havens. 


LORENZA    HAVENS. 

{From  a  photograph  taken  when  past  ninety  years  old.) 

Lorcnza  Havens  was  a  daughter  of  Robert  Havens,  whose 
farm  was  made  the  rendezvous  of  the  siivages,  and  whose  Ijuild- 
ings  were  burned  by  them.  Her  lover,  Thomas  Pember,  was 
speared  and  scalped  within  sight  of  the  house.  She  afterwards 
became  Mrs.  Lovejoy,  and  has  many  descendants  in  Royalton 
and  vicinity. 


OCTOBER    1 6,   1780  49 

of  Capt.  Gilbert,  Nathaniel  Gilbert,  by  name,  a  boy  about 
fifteen  years  of  age,  was  taken  prisoner. 

The  settlers  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  were  fortunate  in 
being  warned  of  the  approach  of  the  foe  by  Phineas  Parkhurst, 
son  of  Tilly  Parkhurst.  Tilly  Parkhurst  lived  about  one  and 
one-half  miles  down  the  river  from  the  present  site  of  South 
Royalton  village.  Phineas  Parkhurst  was  returning  to  his 
father's  house,  after  warning  the  settlers  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  and,  stepping  out  into  the  river,  was  seen  by  the 
Indians,  who  immediately  shot  at  him.  The  ball  struck  him 
in  one  side  of  the  abdomen,  and  coursed  between  the  muscles, 
and  lodged  just  under  the  skin.  Parkhurst  grasped  the  ball 
between  his  fingers  and  rode  his  horse  to  Lebanon,  N.  H.  He 
afterwards  became  a  practitioner  of  medicine  and  surgery. 

The  party  of  Indians  who  went  to  the  west  side  of  the  river 
found  many  settlers.  The  first  house  plundered  in  this  vicin- 
ity was  that  of  Deacon  Daniel  Rix  which  stood  near  the  site 
of  Don  Blake's  present  home.  Mrs.  Rix  and  two  or  three 
children  were  taken  by  Gen.  Elias  Stevens  on  his  horse,  and  a 
Mrs.  Benton  and  several  children  were  taken  by  Capt.  Joseph 
Parkhurst,  and,  accompanied  by  Deacon  Rix  and  several 
others  on  foot  hastened  down  the  road  for  some  distance,  when, 
not  having  seen  any  Indians,  Gen.  Stevens  decided  to  return 
up  the  river.  He  had  gone  only  a  short  distance  when  he  saw 
the  Indians  approaching.  He  hastily  retraced  his  steps  and 
warned  the  party.  Those  who  were  on  foot  hastened  over  the 
fence  and  escaped  into  the  woods  in  safety.  Gen.  Stevens 
fled,  pursued  by  the  Indians,  who,  however,  were  hindered  by 
taking  time  to  plunder  and  bum  buildings.  At  Tilly  Park- 
hurst's,  who  was  the  father-in-law  of  Gen.  Stevens,  he  found 
his  sister  engaged  in  milking  and  told  her  to  leave  the  cow  im- 
mediately or  the  Indians  would  have  her. 

The  road  was  now  full  of  men,  women,  and  children,  fleeing 
for  their  lives,  and  the  savages  were  close  behind  plunder- 
ing, burning,  and  taking  prisoners.  The  Indians  went  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  Broad  Brook,  and  then  returned  to  the 


5©  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT,,    BY   INDIANS 

mouth  of  the  Chelsea  Branch,  where  their  companions  were 
stationed. 

Among  the  individual  deeds  of  heroism  in  connection  with 
this  day  of  horrors,  the  bravery  and  thoughtfulness  of  Mrs. 
Hendee    is    pre-eminent. 

^^  ^*  ^f*  ^*  *j*  3K 

The  exact  place  where  she  crossed  the  river  with  the 
children  is  not  positively  known,  and  several  locations  are 
given.  It  seems  very  probable,  however,  that  there  might 
have  been  several  such  crossing  places.  *  There  is  excellent 
authority  that  one  of  the  places  was  just  above  the  head  of 
the  island  in  South  Royalton  village  in  the  rear  of  the 
present  home  of  Erwin  Doubleday,  straight  across  to  the 
Charles  Southworth  meadow. 

After  the  return  of  the  various  scouting  parties  to  the  mouth 
of  the  branch,  they,  with  their  prisoners  and  plunder,  returned 
to  the  Robert  Havens  house  which  they  burned,  and  then 
started  for  Canada  at  about  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  #^ 

The  prisoners  were  taken  to  Montreal  and  its  vicinity,  and 
most  of  them  returned  in  about  two  years,  with  the  exception 
of  Adan  Durkee,  who  died,  a  prisoner,  in  Montreal. 

♦Mr.  Edward  Rix,  now  living  in  Royalton,  whose  father  was  one  of  the 
rescued  children,  says  his  father  had  often  taken  him,  when  a  boy,  to  this  place 
and  told  him  that  there  was  where  Mrs.  Hendee  had  crossed  with  the  children. 


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THE     125TH    ANNIVERSARY. 

The  one  hundred  and  twenty-fifth  anniversary  was  marked 
by  a  celebration  out  of  the  ordinary.  A  former  resident  of 
Royalton,  Daniel  G.  Wild,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  had  given  $200 
to  the  Royalton  Woman's  Club  to  erect  a  monument  to  com- 
memorate the  historic  event.  On  October  16,  1905,  therefore, 
the  whole  town  devoted  itself  to  the  fitting  observance  of  the  day. 
At  an  early  morning  hour  the  Selectmen,  Elmer  Doyle,  Hiram 
Benson  and  Charles  Black,  accompanied  by  Representative 
R.  B.  Galusha,  convened  in  the  town  clerk's  office  and  formally 
granted  the  right  to  erect  the  proposed  monument.  At  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  the  members  of  the  club,  together  with  the 
teachers  and  pupils  of  the  Central  School,  and  a  large  gathering 
of  citizens  from  Royalton  and  surrounding  towns,  gathered  on 
the  park  at  the  head  of  Bridge  street  to  unite  in  the  simple  ser- 
vice that  marked  the  day. 

Mrs.  Charles  W.  Joiner,  chairman  of  the  Monument  Com- 
mittee, had  charge  of  the  program.  After  the  prayer  by  Rev. 
Joel  F.  Whitney,  Mrs.  Joiner  gave  a  brief  recital  of  the  tragic 
histor)-^  which  was  of  particular  interest  on  this  occasion,  as 
there  were  a  number  present  who  were  descended  from  captives 
that  were  taken  by  Indians  to  Canada.  Mr.  Wild,  the  donor  of 
the  $200  for  the  monument,  is  a  direct  descendant  of  the 
brave  Mrs.  Hendee,  who  forded  the  river  and  was  instrumental 
in  rescuing  so  many  children.  In  closing,  Mrs.  Joiner  made 
an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  school  children  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  the  history  and  heroism  of  the  first  settlers  and  to  care  for 
and  protect  the  monument  which  was  to  be  erected. 

Miss  Fannie  Eastman,  the  acting  president  of  the  club, 
turned  the  first  sod  on  the  green  in  front  of  the  town  clerk's 
office,  the  site  selected  for  the  monument.  As  she  did  this, 
she  recited  the  following  lines  which  she  had  written : 


$2  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

Dear  old  Royalton,  thee  we  love 
All  our  other  thoughts  above, 
And  the  spot  we  mark  today 
Shall  be  dear  to  us  alway. 
They  who  plant  the  trees  plant  hopes, 
But  they  who  put  to  granite  strokes 
Mark  that  which  ever  shall  endure 
'   '  And  through  the  ages  standeth  sure. 

Mrs.  Seymour  Culver  then  planted  the  staff  of  the  stars  and 
stripes  where  the  sod  had  been  turned,  and  the  entire  assembly- 
joined  in  singing  "America." 

William  Skinner,  the  Town  Clerk,  accepted  the  gift  for 
the  town  and  voiced  the  gratitude  of  the  people  to  Mr.  Wild 
for  making  possible  this  memorial  of  an  event  so  important 
historically. 

One  of  the  most  interested  observers  of  this  ceremony  was 
Mrs.  Katherine  Fletcher  Kendall  Rix  (widow  of  the  late  William 
Rix),  who  watched  from  her  window.  This  was  her  last  par- 
ticipation in  any  public  event,  as  only  a  few  weeks  later  her  life, 
so  rich  in  public  interests,  came  to  a  close  in  the  9  2d  year  of  her 
age. 


ROYALTON  WOMAN'S  CLUB. 

And  what  has  the  Royalton  Woman's  Club  done  to  entitle 
it  to  the  honor  of  placing  the  memorial  tablet  ? 

From  the  organization  in  1896  it  has  been  progressive.  In 
1898  admittance  was  gained  to  the  Vermont  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  and  one  of  the  first  achievements  by  the  club 
out  of  the  ordinary  was  the  Hghting  of  the  village  streets.  In 
these  kerosene  lamps,  now  replaced  by  electric  lights,  the  women 
took  especial  delight,  as  many  of  them  came  from  Boston, 
where  they  had  long  done  service  in  illuminating  Boston  Com- 
mon. 

The  members  next  gave  their  attention  to  the  condition  of 
the  original  grant  of  the  town.  This  parchment  was  granted 
by  New  York  (Thomas  Chittenden,  governor)  to  George  Ban- 
yar,  William  Smith,  Whitehead  Hicks  and  John  Kelley  and 
was  surveyed  and  allotted  by  them  in  1770.  The  first  settlement 
was  made  in  1 771  by  Robert  Havens,  who  moved  there  with  his 
family  from  Sharon,  Vt.  The  grant  was  accompanied  by  a 
map  which  is  one  of  the  best  of  this  vicinity  ever  made.  Time 
and  the  desire  of  many  a  man  to  trace  the  boundaries  with  his 
fore  finger  threatened  the  record  with  dissolution,  had  not  the 
women  of  the  club  come  to  the  rescue  and  sent  the  much  worn 
and  in  places  almost  illegible  parchment  away  to  Massachusetts 
to  be  restored  by  experts. 

In  the  entire  state  of  Vermont  there  are  less  than  a  half  dozen 
of  the  original  parchment  grants  in  existence  and  Royalton  is 
justly  proud  of  her  possession. 

The  establishment  of  the  Penny  Savings  System  in  the  schools 
of  the  town  system  was  the  next  work  that  appealed  to  the 
women. 

At  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  memorial,  the  officers  of 
the  club  were : 


54  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

President,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Joiner;  Vice-President,  Miss  Gertrude  M.  Deni- 
son;  Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Dutton;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Mrs.  George  Allen  Laird;  Treasurer,  Miss  Ida  C.  Lyman.  Members: 
Mrs.  P.  S.  Belknap,  South  Royalton;  Miss  Mattie  Buck,  Mrs.  Seymour 
Culver,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Dutton,  Miss  Alice  Chase  Denison,  Miss  Gertrude 
M.  Denison,  Miss  Fanny  Eastman,  Mrs.  R.  B.  Galusha,  Miss  Alice  Deni- 
son Grant,  Mrs.  M.  L.  Hinckley,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Joiner,  Mrs.  A.  W.  Lyman, 
Miss  Ada  C.  Lyman,  Mrs.  George  Allen  Laird,  Mrs.  F.  F.  Russel,  Mrs. 
D.  C.  Steams,  W.  Concord,  N.  H.;  Mrs.  William  Skinner,  Miss  C.  S. 
Stickney,  Mrs.  Levi  Wild,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Whitney,  Miss  Mary  Whitney. 

Presidential  List — Mrs.  George  Allen  Laird,  the  first  president,  served 
four  years.  In  1903  she  was  elected  for  a  fifth  time,  but  refused  to  serve. 
Mrs.  C.  W.  Joiner  is  now  serving  her  second  term.  Mrs.  D.  C.  Stearns, 
on  account  of  illness,  did  not  serve  her  first  term,  but  was  elected  the  third 
time  and  resigned  the  honor  because  of  her  removal  from  town.  Others 
who  have  served  are  Miss  Doubleday  and  Miss  Gertrude  Denison. 


rr 

*  , 

^-'/Sl 

l^^,si#; 

fe^^^fj 

CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


THE  ACADEMY. 


THE  UNVEILING  OF  THE  MONUMENT, 

May  23rd,  1906,  was  dedicated  to  the  unveiling  of  the  monu- 
ment. There  was  a  large  and  representative  gathering  of 
townspeople  on  the  village  green  and  in  the  Congregational 
church.  Former  residents  of  Royalton  and  descendants  of 
captives  came  from  far  and  near,  and  a  band  set  patriotic 
echoes  a-flying.  The  president  of  the  Woman's  Club,  Mrs. 
Charles  W.  Joiner,  was  in  charge  of  the  ceremonies.  The  par- 
ticipants of  the  program  were  nearly  all  descendants  of  cap- 
tives. After  the  invocation  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Whitney,  Katherine 
Dewey  recited  the  following  poem  written  by  C.  W.  Scarff,  of 
Burlington,  Vt.: 

THE  STORY  OF  ROYALTON. 

My  song  relates  to  Royalton 

When  settlement  had  just  begun; 

To  the  stalwart  men  of  the  wild  frontier; 

Their  noble  wives,  and  their  children  dear. 

And  hark  ye  all  who  are  gathered  round, 

Behold,  you  are  standing  on  sacred  ground. 

For  in  this  vale  long  years  ago 

They  fell  a  prey  to  the  red  skinned  foe: 

Their  homes  laid  waste,  and  the  fire-brand 

Spread  desolation  throughout  the  land. 

But  the  Martyr  blood  of  sacrifice 

Cried  out  from  earth  to  the  angry  skies, 

And  the  answer  came  as  the  lightning  flash, 

And  the  onward  sweep  of  the  whirlwind  crash, 

Arousing  the  settlers  throughout  the  state 

To  rise  in  arms  ere  it  be  too  late, 

And  when  the  clouds  of  war  rolled  by 

And  the  sun  appeared  in  the  peaceful  sky, 

It  shone  on  a  land  forever  free 

And  consecrated  to  liberty. 


56  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

You  doubtless  know  the  story  well 

That  dear  old  grandsire  used  to  tell, 

Of  how  the  hardy  Pioneer 

Encamped  within  the  forest  here: 

Hewed  out  a  cabin  all  by  hand: 

Set  up  a  home  and  cleared  the  land: 

How  year  by  year  their  numbers  grew 

As  thrifty  families  used  to  do, 

And  how  they  coaxed  abundant  yield 

From  meadow  lot  and  cultured  field, 

Nor  dreamed  that  they  had  aught  to  fear 

From  straggling  Indians  camping  near. 

And  so  they  toiled  in  sweet  content 

Within  this  wild  environment. 

But  hark!  what  mystic  sounds  I  hear 

In  rhythmic  cadence  soft  and  clear! 

'Tis  but  the  tread  of  phantom  feet: 

Of  spectral  travelers  down  the  street. 

In  thought  I  see  them  on  their  way 

To  the  house  of  God  on  that  Sabbath  Day. 

Their  hearts  aglow  with  joy  and  song 

As  peacefully  they  move  along. 

How  beautiful  the  hills  of  green: 

The  river  winding  down  between: 

Reflecting  silvery  clouds  on  high 

As  they  wing  their  way  athwart  the  sky. 

Was  ever  a  scene  on  earth  more  fair 

Than  the  congregation  gathered  there  ? 

But  the  vision  passes  from  my  sight 

And  the  forms  are  lost  in  the  shades  of  night. 

But  O!  what  a  change  the  morrow  brings, 

For  at  break  of  day  the  Tocsin  rings. 

To  Arms!  to  meet  in  mortal  strife 

With  fiends  of  the  torch  and  scalping  knife. 

A  British  captain  in  command 

As  onward  rush  that  hostile  band. 

They  took  the  settlers  unaware 

Without  a  warning  to  prepare. 

No  time  their  household  goods  to  save: 

No  time  to  flee  to  sheltering  cave: 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  57 

Husbands  were  torn  from  their  wives'  embrace 

And  families  scattered  from  place  to  place. 

And  thus  they  fell  an  easy  prey 

And  were  safely  bound  and  led  away. 

Nor  did  the  savages  retreat 

'Till  their  stroke  of  vengeance  was  complete. 

Scarce  a  home  in  town  escaped  the  fate 

Of  devouring  torch  and  fiendish  hate, 

And  clouds  of  smoke  in  the  stifling  air 

Completed  the  scene  of  black  despair. 

But  let  us  turn  from  history's  page 

And  legend  of  departed  age; 

For  transient  was  that  hapless  time 

Of  war  and  waste  and  nameless  crime, 

And  view  the  town  in  peaceful  mood, 

A  modern,  thrifty  neighborhood. 

The  handiwork  of  God  remains 

Redeemed  from  wounds  and  free  trom  stains. 

Behold  the  brooks,  the  sparkling  rills, 

The  rocks,  the  everlasting  hills! 

The  same  old  sod  they  used  to  tread: 

The  same  vast  firmament  o'er  head, 

Are  parts  of  God's  eternal  plan 

That  forms  the  heritage  of  man. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  final  scene, 

Assembled  here  on  the  village  green. 

This  Monument  to  dedicate, 

A  fit  memorial  of  the  fate 

That  once  befell  the  pioneers, 

Lest  we  forget  in  coming  years. 

Grow  green,  O  grass,  o'er  crumbled  grave 

Of  dusky  foe  and  hero  brave: 

Blow  softly,  O  ye  winds  of  time. 

And  cool  the  rancor  of  this  crime: 

Shine  brightly,  O  ye  orb  of  day. 

And  melt  the  mists  of  hate  away! 

Then  all  may  live  as  all  men  should, 

By  the  golden  rule  of  brotherhood. 


58  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

The  flags  veiling  the  monument  were  drawn  away  by  Helen 
Dewey,  Gertrude  Dewey,  David  Wild  (all  descendants  of 
Gamer  Rix)  and  Max  Bliss,  a  descendant  of  John  Hutchinson. 
Then  the  assembly  gathered  in  the  church.  Prayer  was  of- 
fered by  Rev.  E.  E.  Wells,  South  Royalton;  a  quartette  ren- 
dered the  hymn  which  was  sung  at  the  Centennial  Anniversary; 
Rev.  Sherman  Goodwin,  of  South  Royalton,  read  the  Scripture ; 
and  Mrs.  P.  G.  Belknap  sang  a  solo. 

A  very  able  address  was  given  by  Rev.  William  Skinner 
Hazen,  D.D.,  of  Beverly,  Mass.,  a  grandson  of  Rev.  Azel  Wash- 
bum,  an  early  minister  of  the  Congregational  church.  He 
began  by  a  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  saUent  points  in  the 
early  history  of  Vermont,  and  then  passed  to  that  of  Royalton. 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  WILLIAM  SKINNER  HAZEN,  D.D. 

Royalton!  It  is  a  name  which  was  a  household  word  in 
my  boyhood  home;  the  residence  of  my  maternal  grand- 
parents, and  the  early  home  of  my  sainted  mother;  Royalton, 
of  which  in  my  earliest  days  I  never  tired  of  hearing  and  from 
one  of  whose  honored  citizens  I  received  my  name;  Royalton, 
of  which  I  cherished  so  high  regard  that  to  my  childish  imag- 
ination it  seemed  most  like  heaven  of  any  place  on  earth. 

It  was  originally  granted  by  New  York  to  George  Banyan, 
William  Smith,  Whitehead  Hicks  and  John  Kelley,  and  was 
surveyed  and  allotted  by  them  in  1770.  Robert  Havens  and 
his  family  made  the  first  permanent  settlement  in  1771.  He 
was  joined  by  EHsha  Kent  and  family  the  next  year.  The  set- 
tlers had  purchased  under  the  New  York  charter.  On  learn- 
ing that  the  Vermont  legislature  was  about  to  treat  this  town- 
ship as  vacant  land,  and  grant  it  to  Eliakim  Spooner  and  others, 
they  obtained  a  grant  of  the  same.  This  second  charter  was 
issued  to  Comfort  Seaver  and  sixty  others  Dec.  20,  1791.  The 
town  was  probably  organized  about  the  year  1774  or  1775. 
The  early  records  are  missing  so  that  the  exact  date  cannot 
be  determined. 

In  1780  the  population  of  the  town  was  about  three  hun- 
dred, and  it  was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  The  harvest  of 
that  year  was  hardly  secured,  when  a  party  of  hostile  Indians 
visited  it,  and  the  settlement  was  laid  in  ashes.  It  happened 
this  way.  While  one  force  swept  through  the  western  border 
of  the  state,  doing  httle  damage,  an  expedition  set  out  against 
Newbury  with  the  ostensible  purpose  of  capturing  Lieutenant 
Whitcomb,  who,  some  years  before,  while  scouting  on  the 
Richelieu,  had  mortally  wounded  and  robbed  the  British 
General  Gordon.  Lieutenant  Horton  of  the  British  army 
commanded  this  force.    The  second  in  command  was  La- 


60  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

Motte,  a  Canadian,  aided  by  a  man  named  Hamilton,  an 
escaped  prisoner,  who,  during  the  previous  summer,  had  been 
in  Newbury  and  Royalton.  The  force  consisted  of  three  hun- 
dred men,  all  but  seven  of  whom  were  Indians.  Leaving  the 
lake  they  followed  up  the  Winooski,  guided  by  old  warriors 
who  were  familiar  with  this  ancient  war  path  of  their  people 
in  the  days  when  their  attacks  were  the  constant  dread  of  the 
New  England  frontiers.  Reaching  the  place  now  the  capital 
of  the  state,  they  captured  two  hunters  from  Newbury  among 
the  tall  pines  that  then  covered  the  narrow  valley.  By  these 
they  were  told  that  Newbury  was  expecting  an  attack,  and  the 
people  were  prepared  for  it.  Upon  learning  this,  they  changed 
their  plans,  and  turned  their  attention  toward  Royalton. 

There  had  been  a  small  fort  and  garrison  at  this  place,  both 
of  which  had  been  moved  to  Bethel  only  a  short  time  before. 
The  enemy  went  on,  passing  through  what  is  now  Barre  and 
over  the  mountains  through  Orange  and  Washington  till  they 
came  to  a  stream  which  empties  into  White  River.  Follow- 
ing the  course  of  this  stream,  they  advanced  till  they  came  near 
some  settlements.  Here  they  halted,  and  sent  out  reconnoi- 
tering  parties,  who  reported  that  all  was  quiet  among  the  in- 
habitants. They  left  a  strong  guard  at  this  place,  and  went  on 
down  the  stream.  Reaching  Tunbridge  Saturday  evening, 
they  lay  in  camp  during  the  Sabbath.  Early  Monday  morn- 
ing, the  1 6th  of  October,  1780,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  they  sur- 
prised the  settlers  and  began  their  destructive  work.  They 
first  entered  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Hutchinson,  taking  him 
and  his  brother  Abijah  prisoners.  They  then  went  to  the  home 
of  Mr.  Robert  Havens,  where  they  killed  Thomas  Pember  and 
Elias  Button.  From  here  they  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Joseph 
Kneeland,  captured  him  and  his  father,  and  Simeon  Belknap, 
Giles  Gibbs  and  Jonathan  Brown.  They  then  invaded  the 
house  of  Elias  Curtis,  making  him,  John  Kent  and  Peter  Mason 
prisoners.  So  far  the  business  was  conducted  with  the  greatest 
silence,  and  prisoners  were  forbidden  upon  pain  of  death  mak- 
ing any  outcry  which  would  arouse  the  people. 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  61 

Reaching  the  mouth  of  the  branch,  they  made  a  stand,  and 
sent  out  small  parties  in  different  directions  to  plunder  the 
dwellings  and  bring  in  prisoners.  One  party  went  down  White 
River  about  a  mile  to  Sharon,  burned  two  houses  and  bams, 
did  much  damage  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners.  Another 
party  went  up  the  river,  captured  David  Waller,  a  young  boy 
who  lived  with  Gen.  Stevens,  plundered  and  set  fire  to  the  Gen- 
eral's house.  They  then  proceeded  in  that  direction  about 
three  miles,  killing  the  cattle,  and  plundering  and  setting  fire 
to  the  buildings  as  they  passed  along.  Reaching  another 
stream  that  empties  into  White  River,  seeing  a  number  of  men 
on  the  opposite  shore,  and  being  within  three  miles  of  the  fort 
they  did  not  cross  the  stream,  but  retreated  to  the  place  where 
in  the  early  morning  they  made  their  first  attack. 

By  this  time  the  people  were  thoroughly  aroused,  and  "the 
infernal  clamor  of  the  war-whoop  resounded  among  the  hills 
that  had  so  long  been  strangers  to  its  echoes,  giving  to  the 
panic  another  terror."  Reaching  the  place  of  their  first  attack 
about  two  o'clock  with  their  plunder  and  prisoners,  they  filed 
oflf  to  the  left,  passed  up  another  branch  of  White  River,  where 
there  were  some  small  settlements.  They  took  a  number  of 
prisoners,  plundered  and  burnt  the  houses  and  property,  and 
proceeded  about  three  miles  into  Randolph.  They  encamped 
in  a  very  secure  place,  easily  defended,  having  the  bank  of  the 
river  on  their  left,  and  a  ridge  of  hills  in  their  front,  right  and 
rear.  Having  secured  their  prisoners  and  stationed  their  sen- 
tries, they  kindled  their  fires,  prepared  and  ate  their  food,  and 
lay  down  to  sleep.  During  the  day,  "burning,  pillaging,"  says 
the  historian,  "and  making  prisoners  as  they  swooped  with 
the  celerity  of  falcons  upon  one  and  another  isolated  home- 
stead or  defenseless  hamlet,  they  killed  four  persons,  captured 
twenty-five  and  destroyed  quantities  of  provisions  and  gar- 
nered harvests."  Mr.  Conant  says,  "By  two  in  the  afternoon 
they  had  killed  two  men,  taken  twenty-six  prisoners,  burned 
twenty-one  houses  and  twenty  bams  with  their  contents,  and 
killed  all  the  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  they  could  find.    They 


62  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,  BY  INDIANS 

captured  and  took  with  them  about  thirty  horses."  It  is  said 
that  two  small  buildings,  a  woodshed  and  com  bam  were  the 
only  ones  which  escaped  the  flames,  so  thorough  was  the  work 
of  destmction  of  these  savages. 

Before  starting  on  their  retreat  Mrs.  Hendee,  the  young 
wife  of  one  of  the  settlers,  with  great  courage  and  determination, 
approached  them.  She  pleaded  so  eamestly  and  persistently 
for  the  release  of  her  little  boy  that  he  was  restored  to  her. 
Encouraged  by  her  success  she  continued  her  entreaty  till  nine 
other  small  boys  were  set  free.  One  of  the  Indians  then  in  a 
fit  of  good  humor  offered  to  carry  her  over  the  river  on  his  back. 
She  accepted  the  offer,  and  her  savage  gallant  carried  her  safely 
over,  although  the  water  was  half  his  depth,  and  she  soon 
reached  home  with  her  httle  band  of  boys  to  the  no  small  sur- 
prise of  their  parents. 

I  have  gathered  these  other  facts  of  interest.  In  one  of 
the  houses  first  attacked  two  women,  suddenly  awakened  by 
the  rashing  in  of  the  savages,  were  so  frightened  as  to  lose  self- 
control.  They  went  out  of  doors,  dishabille,  and  stood  motion- 
less till  the  Indians  brought  their  clothes.  This  act  of  kind- 
ness restored  their  senses.  They  dressed,  took  their  children 
and  fled  to  the  woods,  while  the  savages  were  plundering  the 
house.  At  another  place  one  of  the  women  had  the  boldness 
to  approach  the  Indians  for  distressing  helpless  women  and 
children,  saying  that,  if  they  had  the  courage  of  warriors,  they 
would  cross  the  river  and  go  and  fight  men  at  the  fort.  The 
Indians  bore  her  remarks  patiently,  and  only  replied,  "  Squaw 
shouldn't  say  too  much."  At  stiU  another  place  a  woman 
having  her  gown  carried  out  of  the  house  with  other  plunder 
resolved  to  recover  it.  Seeing  it  in  a  heap  of  articles  at  the 
door  which  the  savages  were  dividing  among  themselves,  she 
seized  it.  One  of  the  Indians  knocked  her  down  with  his  gun. 
But  she  was  not  discouraged.  Patiently  waiting  her  oppor- 
tunity when  the  savages  were  collecting  more  plunder,  she  again 
seized  her  gown,  and  walked  off,  having  one  child  in  her  arms 
and  leading  another  by  the  hand. 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  63 

But  to  return  to  our  narrative.  The  inhabitants  surprised, 
frightened,  and  scattered  were  unable  to  do  anything  in  their 
own  defense.  However,  the  report  of  the  invasion  soon  spread 
among  the  adjacent  settlements,  and  aroused  those  on  the  Con- 
necticut River  and  adjoining  towns.  By  evening  several  hun- 
dreds— ^two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  one  authority  says — had 
collected  at  the  place  where  the  attack  commenced.  They 
organized  by  choosing  Captain  House,  who  had  served  several 
campaigns  in  the  Continental  army,  as  their  commander.  By 
this  time  the  enemy  were  encamped  seven  or  eight  miles  ahead. 
Captain  House  and  his  undisciphned,  but  brave,  corps,  with 
great  enthusiasm,  began  a  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  savage  army 
in  a  dark  night  in  an  almost  trackless  wilderness,  guided  by 
a  few  marked  trees  amidst  the  logs,  rocks  and  hills  with  which 
the  country  abounded.  In  spite  of  all  obstacles  they  pushed 
on  till  they  reached  the  place  where  the  last  houses  had  been 
burnt.  Being  now  evidently  near  the  enemy,  they  advanced 
with  great  caution.  The  sentries  of  the  marauders  were 
stationed  nearly  half  a  mile  in  the  rear.  Near  the  place  where 
they  had  crossed  the  last  stream  there  was  a  large  log  which 
served  as  a  foot  bridge.  Not  far  from  the  river  was  a  gentle 
rise  of  the  land  with  a  number  of  large  trees  near  the  path. 
The  Indian  sentries  were  posted  behind  these  trees.  Some  of 
Captain  House's  men  were  on  horseback  and  some  on  foot. 
The  front  guard  had  passed  the  log,  and  the  enemy's  sentries 
and  about  one-third  the  main  body  had  crossed  the  stream. 
The  van,  arriving  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Indian  sentries, 
were  fired  upon,  and  one  man  was  wounded.  Returning  the 
fire  the  Vermonters  killed  one  and  wounded  one  or  two  more. 
The  Indian  guards  then  fled  to  their  camp.  Captain  House's 
army,  advancing  a  little  farther,  formed  within  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  Indian  camp,  and  waited  for  daylight.  The 
savages  were  now  greatly  agitated.  Fatigued,  and  in  a  pro- 
found slumber  after  one  of  their  ravenous  suppers,  they  were 
filled  with  fear  and  confusion.  However,  they  were  soon  suf- 
ficiently quieted  to  form  plans  for  their  safety,  which  gave  ample 


64  BURNING   OF   ROYALTON,   VT.,    BY   INDIANS 

evidence  that  they  were  not  lacking  in  the  arts  of  policy.  They 
sent  one  of  their  prisoners,  an  old  man,  informing  the  Vermont- 
ers  that,  if  they  attacked  them,  they  would  instantly  put  every 
one  of  the  prisoners  to  death.  The  expectation  of  an  attack 
had  already  proved  fatal  to  two  of  them.  Thinking  the  Ver- 
monters  would  certainly  relieve  them,  one  of  the  prisoners 
refused  to  march,  and  another  was  doomed  on  account  of  the 
Indian  that  had  been  slain.  As  they  lay  bound  on  the  ground 
the  savages  tomahawked  and  scalped  them. 

While  the  Vermonters  were  considering  the  message  from 
the  Indians,  the  warriors  formed  to  cover  their  retreat.  Imme- 
diately crossing  the  stream  they  moved  through  Randolph, 
where  they  captured  Zadock  Steele,  thence  through  the  west 
part  of  Brookfield  to  the  valley  of  the  Dog  River  in  Northfield 
and  on  to  the  Onion  River.  Following  that  river  to  its  mouth, 
they  embarked  for  Canada,  reaching  St.  John  and  Montreal 
without  being  molested.  House  and  his  men,  waiting  for  the 
dawn,  and  deliberating  on  the  message  brought  them  by  the 
prisoner  till  the  enemy  had  left  their  camp,  went  about  five 
miles  further  into  Brookfield.  Thinking  pursuit  vain,  they 
returned  to  their  homes.  By  caution  and  delay  they  lost  the 
opportunity  of  attacking  the  enemy  to  advantage. 

Some  blame  Captain  House  for  this  failure  and  charge  him 
with  gross  negligence  and  incompetence,  and  say  the  enemy 
shrewdly  outwitted  him.  But,  after  all,  it  is  a  question  whether 
it  was  not  wiser  to  return  as  he  did.  Had  he  pursued,  precious 
lives  might  have  been  sacrificed  and  such  enmity  of  the  Indians 
aroused  as  would  have  proved  fatal  to  the  settlers.  On  reach- 
ing Montreal,  "  the  prisoners  were  sold,"  according  to  the  nar- 
rative of  Zadock  Steele,  "  for  half  a  Joe  each,  or  eight  dollars 
a  head."  Most  of  them  were  afterwards  exchanged,  and  the 
following  summer  returned  to  their  homes.  But  Steele  did 
not  escape  till  two  years  later. 

My  first  knowledge  of  this  appalling  incident  in  the  history 
of  the  town  which  meant  so  much  to  the  early  settlers,  is  asso- 
ciated with  a  venerable,  gray  headed  old  man  with  a  group 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  65 

of  school  children  around  him  listening  with  intense  interest  to 
the  narrative  of  his  capture,  when  only  thirteen  years  old,  the 
long  and  wearisome  journey  through  the  wilderness  to  Canada, 
his  experience  with  the  Indians,  his  ransom  by  a  French  lady 
who  bought  him,  treated  him  like  a  mother  her  child  and  when 
the  war  was  over  sent  him  back  to  his  parents,  who  could 
not  regard  him  other  than  as  one  risen  from  the  dead.  They 
had  not  heard  from  him  since  the  day  of  his  capture.  Though 
it  was  never  my  privilege  to  hear  the  story  from  his  own  lips, 
yet  I  distinctly  remember  the  highly  revered  old  man,  and  no 
one  could  meet  him  without  feeling  that  the  divine  direction, 
"Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honor  the  face 
of  the  old  man,"  applied  to  him. 

From  different  sources  I  have  gathered  the  following  facts 
which  I  will  give  mostly  in  the  language  of  Grandpa  Rix  in 
his  talks  with  the  children.  "As  we  hurried  on,"  he  says, 
"we  encountered  dozens  of  men,  women  and  children  who  had 
fled  from  their  homes  terror  stricken,  seeking  some  place  of 
safety.  Some  fled  to  the  mountains,  others  to  the  woods,  while 
larger  numbers  kept  the  road,  following  down  the  River  road 
towards  the  Fort,  some  four  or  five  miles  distant.  We  travelled 
on  with  all  possible  speed,  but  were  not  within  a  mile  of  the 
Fort  when  the  terrible  war  whoop  of  the  savages  resounded  in 
our  ears.  On  they  came  yelling  and  shouting  and  hideous  in 
their  fantastic  dress  and  war  paint.  In  a  few  minutes  they 
have  overtaken  and  surrounded  us,  a  little  company  of  de- 
fenseless men,  women  and  children.  My  little  brother  Joe  and 
myself  were  torn  from  mother  notwithstanding  her  piteous 
pleadings  and  entreaties.  I  had  a  stout  club  in  my  hand  with 
which  I  tried  to  defend  myself,  determined  to  sell  my  liberty 
as  dearly  as  possible,  but  that  was  quickly  wrested  from  me. 
We  were  securely  bound  and  marched  back  to  the  place  where 
the  captain  of  the  band  awaited  the  coming  of  the  raiding 
party.  Oh,  the  scenes  of  that  terrible  day,  dear  children,  seem 
burned  on  my  memory,  and  even  today,  I  can  hardly  think  of 
them  with  any  degree  of  composure."     Then  describing  the 


66  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

efforts  of  Mrs.  Hendee  to  secure  the  release  of  the  boys  of  which 
we  have  already  spoken,  Mr.  Rix  says,  "I  could  never  describe 
to  you  the  utter  despair  which  took  possession  of  me  when 
I  found  Mrs.  Hendee's  efforts  for  my  release  were  in  vain. 
My  disappointment  and  grief  were  too  deep  for  tears  and  to 
be  torn  from  my  parents  in  this  cruel  manner  seemed  worse 
than  death.  It  was  a  long  march  through  the  wilderness  and 
with  the  other  prisoners  I  was  taken  to  Montreal."  He  was 
loaded  with  heavy  packs  which  he  carried  as  long  as  he  could 
and  then  fell  under  them.  He  said  if  he  had  been  told  that 
he  would  be  killed  he  could  not  have  carried  the  burden  far- 
ther. When  his  Indian  keeper  took  in  the  situation,  the  boy 
was  relieved  of  part  of  his  burden.  But  to  continue  the  narra- 
tive in  Mr.  Rix's  own  words,  "A  kind-hearted  French  lady 
saw  me  and  became  interested  in  my  behalf,  and,  at  length, 
succeeded  in  obtaining  my  release  from  the  Indians.  She 
took  me  to  her  home  and  treated  me  with  the  utmost  kindness, 
and  at  last  was  instrumental  in  sending  me  home.  In  parting 
she  made  me  a  present  of  a  gold  guinea."  "Did  you  spend 
it  on  the  way  home,  Grandpa?"  "No,  but  I  will  tell  you, 
children,  how  I  did  spend  that  guinea.  A  few  Sabbaths  after 
I  reached  home,  a  young  minister  came  to  preach  for  us.  The 
price  for  his  services  was  a  guinea  a  Sunday.  As  father  was 
Treasurer  of  the  Society,  the  duty  of  paying  the  minister  de- 
volved upon  him,  but  there  was  no  money  in  the  treasury. 
I  went  to  the  little  box  in  which  I  kept  my  small  treasures  and 
brought  the  guinea  to  father  to  pay  the  minister."  "That  is 
a  noble-hearted  boy,"  said  my  father,  "but  you  shall  never 
lose  anything  by  this,  my  son."  Mr.  Rix  describes  his  recep- 
tion on  reaching  home  in  this  interesting  manner.  "One 
Sabbath  morning  early  in  October,  the  family  were  at  break- 
fast, when  suddenly  the  door  opened  and  I  bounded  into  the 
room  and  was  clasped  in  my  parents'  arms.  'Bless  the  Lord, 
oh  my  soul!'  exclaimed  my  father.  'We  have  trusted  in  Thee 
and  Thou  hast  brought  it  to  pass,  that  Thou  hast  restored  to 
us  our  dear  son,  blessed  be  Thy  holy  name!'     My  dear  little 


OCTOBER   1 6,   1780  67 

brothers  and  sisters  crowded  around  me  almost  wild  with  joy, 
as  my  mother  said,  *I  think  that  was  the  happiest  day  of  all 
our  lives.'" 

But  to  turn  our  thoughts  again  to  the  sorely  afflicted  Roy- 
alton.  The  day  after  the  raid,  "a  deep  snow  covered  the 
smoking  ruins  and  desolated  fields.  It  was  a  sad  beginning 
of  Winter  for  the  afflicted  and  homeless  women  and  children, 
the  men  prisoners  or  killed,  their  houses  and  provisions  burned, 
their  horses  carried  off."  It  is  difficult  for  us  with  our  peace- 
ful, even  luxurious  homes  and  abundant  provisions  to  picture 
even  in  imagination  their  trying,  desolate,  suffering  condition. 
They  faced  hardships  such  as  would  have  utterly  discouraged 
persons  of  less  courage  and  resolution.  With  genuine  "Ver- 
mont pluck"  they  gathered  what  remained  of  their  scattered 
effects  and  set  themselves  in  the  spirit  of  real  heroism  to  the 
work  of  repairing  what  seemed  ruined  fortunes. 

To  call  to  mind  such  experiences  in  the  life  of  our  forbears 
and  dedicate  a  monument  made  possible  by  the  patriotic 
efforts  of  the  Woman's  Club,  encouraged  by  the  generous  gift 
of  a  distinguished  grandson  of  one  of  the  captives,  a  monu- 
ment as  enduring  as  the  granite  of  which  it  is  constructed, 
a  silent,  yet  eloquent  witness  to  the  passerby  of  the  trials, 
the  hardships,  the  losses,  the  sufferings,  and  yet  the  heroic 
bearing  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  historic  town  is  the  purpose 
of  the  hour.  We  read  of  an  ancient  people  whose  leader 
directed  them  to  build  a  monument  of  unhewn  stones  to  com- 
memorate an  important  event  in  their  history,  and  said  by  way 
of  explanation,  "That  this  may  be  a  sign  among  you  that  when 
your  children  ask  their  fathers  in  time  to  come  saying,  What 
mean  ye  by  these  stones?  Then  ye  shall  answer  them,  That 
the  waters  of  Jordan  were  cut  off  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord,  when  it  passed  over  Jordan:  and  these  stones 
shall  be  for  a  memorial  unto  the  children  of  Israel  forever." 
So  when  the  children  of  Royalton  shall  stand  with  their  fathers 
by  this  beautiful  monument,  not  of  rough  stones  from  the 
river,  but  of  finely  wrought  granite  from  the  eternal  hills  of 


68  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

their  native  State,  and  ask,  "What  mean  ye  by  this  stone?" 
the  reply  shall  be,  "This  stone  is  for  a  memorial  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Royalton  of  the  heroic  bearing  and  intense  suffering  of 
the  fathers  and  mothers  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  town, 
especially  when  visited  by  a  savage  foe,  their  homes  were  in 
ashes,  their  property  was  taken  or  ruthlessly  destroyed  and 
many  of  their  number  were  carried  into  captivity." 

But  to  be  more  specific  in  regard  to  the  things  for  which 
these  distinguished  people  stood  in  the  midst  of  malignant 
foes,  hardship,  suffering,  loss  of  all  earthly  goods,  in  some 
instances  the  loss  of  life  which  every  one  holds  most  dear. 
They  stood  for  principle.  With  the  courage  of  their  convic- 
tions, they  were  true  to  the  highest  type  of  manhood.  They 
could  not  be  bribed  or  swerved  one  iota  from  what  they  re- 
garded right,  and  hence  duty.  In  that  spirit  they  came  into 
this  then  uninhabited  wilderness  to  make  homes  for  them- 
selves and  children,  to  create  a  healthy  atmosphere  in  which 
to  live,  to  establish  a  government  in  which  the  rights  of  all 
the  people  should  be  respected,  for  they  "are  not  only  the 
governed  but  the  governors."  They  had  the  spirit  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt.  A  friend  congratulated  him  on  his  brilliant 
success.  He  replied,  "I  put  myself  in  the  way  of  things  hap- 
pening, and  they  happened."  So  these  early  settlers  in  the 
face  of  fearful  odds,  even  at  the  risk  of  life,  without  hesitation 
put  themselves  in  the  way  of  things  happening  and  they  hap- 
pened, sometimes  with  great  loss,  but  never  with  loss  of  self- 
respect,  of  character.  Firmly  grounded  in  principle,  no  thought 
of  loss  or  gain  could  shake  them  in  the  least.  "Graft" 
was  unknown  to  them.  It  stands  for  something  entirely  for- 
eign to  the  motives  which  actuated  them,  to  the  purposes  they 
would  accomplish.  The  self-seeking,  ambitious  politician  was 
not  found  in  their  company.  If  by  chance  one  strayed  within 
their  borders  he  felt  at  once  like  a  stranger  among  a  foreign 
people, — out  of  place  and  lonesome  in  the  extreme.  Office 
sought  them,  rather  than  they  the  office.  "Boss"  and  "boss- 
ism"  are  plants  of  modern  discovery  and  growth.     They  had 


OCTOBER    1 6,   1780  69 

no  place  in  their  social  or  political  life.  They  could  not  flour- 
ish in  their  soil.  Their  ideals  were  lofty  and  noble,  entire 
strangers  to  the  modern  inventions  of  the  twentieth  century. 
They  lived  and  wrought,  whether  for  the  State  or  the  indi- 
vidual, in  bUssful  ignorance  of  "bossism  in  poUtics"  or  "graft 
in  high  finance."  Who  will  deny  that  they  are  to  be  highly 
commended  for  such  ignorance,  even  if  they  are  now  pro- 
nounced "behind  the  times."  Their  word  was  as  good  as 
a  bond.  They  daily  stood  before  their  fellows,  in  their  inter- 
course with  them  as  the  embodiment  of  all  that  is  truly  honor- 
able, honest,  just  and  of  good  report. 

Coupled  with  this  devotion  to  principle  and   integrity  of 
character,  and  in  some  sense  the  inspiration  of  it,  were  intelli- 
gence and  religion,  enHghtenment  of  mind  and  intelligent  ser- 
vice of    God.      Very  soon  after  the  town  was  organized,  in 
1774  or  1775,  or  as  some  say  in  1777,  the  Congregational  Church 
was  formed  and  about  a  score  of  years  later  Royalton  Academy 
was    incorporated.     Thus    the  Church  and    the  School   join 
hands  in  advancing  the  highest  interests  of  the  people.    As 
some  one  has  recently  said,   "The  Church  and  the  School- 
house  are  our  only  standing  army."     They  have  made  an  in- 
delible impression  upon  the  succeeding  generations  for  all  that 
is  most  desirable  in  this  life  and  pointed  them  to  the  attain- 
ment   of    the  enduring  riches.     To  some  in  this  progressive 
age  with    modem  views  and  methods  it  may  seem  that  they 
were  too  severe  in  their  ideas,  narrow-minded  and  bigoted. 
It  may  be  said  that  they  might  have  liberalized  their  doctrinal 
views  and  principles  of  practice  to  advantage.     But  however 
that  may  be,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  with  all  their  stern- 
ness and  so-called  narrow-mindedness,  they  produced  strong 
characters,  developed  men  and   women  of  power  and   com- 
manding influence  in  the  various  vocations  they  chose.     It  is 
questionable  if  any  later  generation  with  all  the  boasted  improve- 
ments, the  superior  advantages  and  open  doors  of  opportunity 
have  developed   men  and   women  of  more  sterhng  integrity 
of  character  or  better  equipped  for  the  stern  duties  of  Hfe, 


yo  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

or  who  have  risen  to  higher  eminence  or  achieved  greater  suc- 
cess in  Ufe.  All  honor,  then,  to  the  fathers  and  mothers  of 
those  times  which  tried  men's  souls,  who  in  the  face  of  fear- 
ful odds,  of  privation,  hardship,  suffering,  laid  the  foundation 
of  institutions  as  enduring  as  the  eternal  hills  by  which  they 
were  surrounded,  under  whose  benign  influence  their  children 
and  their  children's  children  to  the  latest  generation  have 
been  and  are  to  be  trained  for  efficient  service  in  Church  and 
State  as  well  as  in  the  more  quiet  walks  of  private  Ufe.  How- 
ever those  of  this  advanced  age  may  be  disposed  to  criticise 
and  even  ridicule  the  ideas  and  practices  of  the  early  fathers, 
they  can  hardly  estimate  the  worth  of  the  invaluable  bless- 
ings they  have  received,  all  unconsciously,  perhaps,  from  the 
very  practices  and  their  results  they  are  disposed  to  criticise 
and  even  ridicule. 

In  this  time  of  commercialism  and  modem  thought,  when 
men  are  "hurrying  to  and  fro," 

"Seeking  for  some  great  thing  to  do, 
Or  secret  thing  to  know," 

there  is  great  danger  of  drifting  away  from  the  ideals  of  the 
fathers,  of  lowering  the  standard  of  manhood  and  the  plane 
of  action  of  men  in  their  deahngs  with  one  another  and  man- 
agement of  the  affairs  of  State.  Indeed,  it  sometimes  seems 
as  though  the  standard  were  already  lowered  and  that  there 
was  a  tendency  downward  in  all  those  things  that  make  for 
the  noblest  character,  the  strictest  integrity,  the  realizing  the 
highest  ideals  in  pubUc  as  well  as  private  life.  If  this  is  not 
the  drift  what  mean  the  frequent  defalcations,  the  stain  on  the 
character  of  prominent  men  who  have  stood  well  before  the 
people  and  seemed  worthy  the  positions  to  which  they  have 
been  elevated  and  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  What  mean 
this  talk  of  "tainted  money,"  these  startling  revelations  in  the 
realm  of  Insurance  in  the  East  and  land  grabbing  and  rob- 
bing of  the  government  in  the  West  ?  To  check  this  down- 
ward tendency,  this  apparent  drift  away  from  the  lofty  prin- 


OCTOBER   l6,  1780  ft 

ciples  and  high  ideals  of  the  fathers,  it  is  well  to  pause  and 
recall  the  foundations  laid  by  the  fathers,  the  principles  that 
actuated  them,  the  character  they  developed  and  the  work 
they  accomplished,  their  vital  service  to  freedom  and  the  State, 
when  they  fought  valiantly  and  with  singleness  of  aim  for 
the  truth  and  would  not  compromise  or  equivocate  or  in  the 
slightest  degree  tone  down  their  righteous  indignation  at  evil, 
no  matter  what  the  consequences  might  be.  Poets  may  sing 
most  beautifully  and  orators  may  declaim  most  eloquently  of 
the  heroism,  the  devotion  to  principle,  the  integrity  of  char- 
acter, the  hardships,  the  sufferings,  the  extremely  trying  ex- 
periences of  the  fathers,  but  the  voice  of  the  poet  and  the  tongue 
of  the  orator  will  soon  be  silenced  while  the  message  of  this 
monument  will  continue  to  be  presented  most  impressively 
to  each  succeeding  generation  so  long  as  time  shall  last.  Heed- 
ing this  message,  following  its  instructions  as  in  the  past  so 
in  the  future,  each  succeeding  generation  shall  continue  to 
make  history  of  which  the  people  may  well  be  proud.  But, 
friends,  after  all  that  is  said  and  done,  the  most  worthy  trib- 
ute we  can  pay  those  whose  virtues  and  labors  we  commem- 
orate this  day  is  by  dedicating  ourselves  anew  to  the  principles 
for  which  they  stood,  and  by  fidelity  to  the  sacred  trust  com- 
mitted to  us  pass  the  goodly  heritage  they  left  us  to  the  next 
generation  untainted,  but  increased  in  value  by  high-minded 
living  and  honorable  service. 


After  a  prayer  written  by  Professor  William  Rix,  Utica, 
N.Y.,  and  delivered  by  Rev.  Levi  Wild,  there  followed  an 
original  poem  by  Rev.  J.  Newton  Perrin,  Jr.,  great-grandson 
of  Garner  Rix,  captive. 

THE  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON. 

The  cabins  of  the  pioneer, 

Dotting  White  River  lands,  had  come 

To  where,  with  mingled  hope  and  fear, 
Was  christened  soon  fair  Royalton. 


72  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

O  Royalton,  our  Royalton, 

Mother  of  loving  children  thou: 
Of  whom  the  many  have  passed  on; 

While  these  thy  wings  are  nesting  now; 
Others  claim  heritage  in  thee 

From  where'er  winds  of  heaven  blow, 
Still  cherishing  the  dear  roof -tree 

Though  by  strange  waters  they  may  sow. 

The  settlers,  beating  measures  true 

Against  the  woody  giants,  clear 
The  virgin  soil  till  not  a  few 

Wide  farms  and  tillages  appear. 
Sleek  sheep  and  cattle  graze  the  slopes 

Of  rounded  hills;  and  oft  are  found 
Barns  that  are  tested  to  their  copes, 

For  peace  and  plenty  here  abound. 
Sounds  of  blithe  industry  and  cheer 

Float  from  the  dwellings.    At  the  mill 
The  old  stone  swirls  to  noisy  gear, 

Led  by  the  streamlet  from  the  hill. 
The  calm-eyed  oxen  press  the  yoke. 

Their  burdens  slowly  gaining  ground. 
While  hoof  of  horse  with  rapid  stroke 

Awakes  betimes  the  echoes  round. 
And  children  play  about  the  home. 

Nor  share  their  guardians'  alarms. 
The  maiden  deftly  plies  the  loom. 

The  mother  holds  the  babe  in  arms. — 

Dread  war!    The  crimes  done  in  thy  name 

Pierce  to  the  skies,  nor  die  away! 
And  blood  and  woe  have  cried,  "For  shame!" 

Since  men  first  fought  in  ancient  day. 
A  Briton's  blood  "the  border"  stains; 

Revenge  no  golden  rule  may  know; 
England  her  red  men,  fierce,  retains; 

And  settlements  must  be  laid  low! 
Yet  all  is  fair  in  war  forsooth  ? 

Then  is  much  foul  which  men  call  fair. 
As  when  on  happy  hearths  the  sleuth 

Steals  suddenly  and  unaware! 


OCTOBER   1 6,  1780  73 

Filing  primeval  water-ways 

Down  from  the  wigwams  of  the  north, 
A  cruel,  sullen  horde  forays 

To  ruin  homes  of  noble  worth! 

October  as  a  glad  surprise 

Floods  the  far-famed  Green  Mountain  state. 
Then  hills  bouquets  toss  to  the  skies, 

With  autumn's  coloring  replete. 
A  peaceful  Sabbath  day,  begun 

In  rest  and  worship,  had  its  fill. 
And  at  the  night-fall  dropped  the  sun 

Behind  his  well-accustomed  hill. 
The  stiu-dy  farm  folk  are  awake 

By  the  first  glint  the  dawn  affords, 
And  some  the  morning  meal  partake. 

And  some  have  gone  to  fields  and  woods, — 
When,  as  a  herd  let  loose  from  hell, 

The  Redcoats'  troop  of  Copperskins, 
With  knife  and  noose  and  torch  and  yell 

And  gun  and  tomahawk,  begins 
Wild  havoc  homestead  haunts  among! 

Falls  the  forged  bolt  as  from  clear  sky! 
Who  stays  behind  meets  captive  thong; 

Who  turns  to  flee,  if  seen,  must  die. 
And  those  there  were  of  tender  years. 

And  women  left  alone  that  mom, 
Who  rose  to  weep  most  bitter  tears, 

And  find  their  loved  ones  from  them  torn! 

Alas  the  day!    Around  the  hearth 

When  grandsires  told  it  to  the  young, 
All  hushed  would  be  the  cry  of  mirth, 

And  children  to  their  mothers  clung. 
The  dreadful  scourge  had  passed  full  soon: 

But  on  those  dimly  burning  pyres 
Hopes  of  the  desolate  consume; 

While  hapless  husbands,  lovers,  sires. 
Sons,  brothers,  in  captivity 

Or  death  are  held.     "O  Lord,  how  long?" 
Vengeance  belongeth  unto  Thee! 

And  mercy  doth  to  Thee  belong! 


74  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

Oh,  silence,  smoke  and  sacrifice! 

Yet  suffering  captives  shall  retrace 
The  trail,  homes  on  these  ruins  rise, 

And  industry  here  throb  apace. 
But  never  will  the  dead  return! 

Nor  life  be  as  it  was  before. 
For  howe'er  much  may  memory  spurn 

Her  tragic  guest,  he's  at  the  door! 

Vicarious  fathers,  in  those  days 

Ye  dared  life  for  the  race  unborn! 
And  heartily  we  speak  your  praise; 

The  cup  of  eulogy  we  turn. 
Fadeless  exemplars!    Hero  band! 

Strong  and  unconquerable  were  ye, 
Upspringing  to  possess  the  land 

When  crushed  by  sad  adversity! 
And,  daughters  of  this  vicinage. 

By  whose  good  auspices  we  meet. 
What  high  ideals,  in  that  age. 

Of  womanhood  both  brave  and  sweet 
Adown  the  vista  we  can  see! 

Those  annals  never  shall  be  told 
Without  a  meed  to  Dame  Hendee 

And  heroines  of  dauntless  mold! 

Ah,  Royalton,  old  Royalton, 

The  stately  centuries  glide  by! 
Yet  hearts  will  never  cease  to  turn 

Back  to  the  dire  calamity 
Which  tried  thee  as  the  gold  is  tried. 

Nor  in  the  furnace  found  thee  dross. 
But  of  true  worth  and  purified — 

That  crucible  thy  lustrous  cross! 

The  congregation  joined  in  the  singing  of  "America," 
and  Rev.  C.  E.  Beals  pronounced  the  benediction.  Miss 
C.  Stickney  was  the  pianist. 

At  the  close  of  the  exercises  in  the  church  Mrs.  Clara 
Denison  McClellan  gave  a  reception  in  her  spacious  colonial 
house. 


A  significant  mile-stone  in  the  passing  of  time  is  the  monu- 
ment on  the  village  green  which  marks  the  125th  Anniversary. 
The  inscription  on  one  side  reads: — 

erected  by 

royalton 

woman's  club, 

OCT.  16,  1905. 

And  on  the  other: — 

COMMEMORATING 

THE   BURNING  OF 

ROYALTON 

BY 

INDIANS, 

OCT.  16,  1780. 


APPENDIX. 


DK.    PHINEAS    PAKKHURST'S   TOMBSTONE. 


STORY    OF   PHINEAS   PARKHURST. 

Phineas  Parkhurst  was  the  Paul  Revere  of  Oct.  i6,  and 
this  is  his  story  as  now  known: — He  had  called  on  the  evening 
of  Oct.  15  at  a  neighbor's  house  in  the  north  part  of  the  town, 
and  had  been  persuaded  to  spend  the  night  there.  The  name 
of  the  host  is  unknown,  but  while  the  family  sat  at  breakfast 
'the  alarm  was  given  and  Phineas  escaped  on  horseback  ac- 
companied by  his  hostess  and  her  daughter.  They  forded 
the  river,  probably  screened  by  the  fog,  and  as  they  fled  he 
warned  the  inhabitants  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  stream. 
After  leaving  the  two  in  a  place  of  safety,  he  returned  to  spread 
the  alarm  and  assist  others  in  escaping.  He  attempted  to 
cross  the  river  opposite  his  father's  house,  but  seeing  the  Ind- 
ians in  possession  turned  back.  The  Indians  fired,  and  the 
ball,  passing  through  his  body,  lodged  under  the  skin.  Grasp- 
ing it  between  his  thumb  and  fingers  he  forced  his  horse  up 
the  bank  and  galloped  down  stream  still  giving  the  alarm, 
though  bent  on  his  own  escape  and  eager  to  find  a  surgeon. 
A  few  miles  further  on  a  young  girl  gave  stimulant  to  the  half 
fainting  rider  and  water  to  the  horse  in  exchange  for  the  half- 
whispered  warning,  "Indians  at  Royalton."  As  he  passed 
Stephen  Tilden's  tavern  in  Hartford  he  could  only  motion 
to  the  alarm  gun  standing  in  the  doorway;  a  mile  further  on, 
the  jaded  horse  and  suffering  rider  crossed  White  River  to 
its  south  side,  then  on  to  Robinson's  ferry  over  the  Connecti- 
cut River,  and  at  Dr.  Hall's  door,  on  the  opposite  bank,  the 
faithful  horse  bearing  the  nearly  exhausted  youth  halted, 
and  the  ride  was  done.  But  what  a  change  had  been  wrought ! 
His  passing  through  the  land  had  awakened  the  alarm  guns, 
gathered  the  men  to  arms,  and  hurried  the  women  and  chil- 


8o  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,    VT.,    BY  INDIANS 

dren  to  the  woods.  At  his  word  the  militia  marched  that 
afternoon  to  Royalton,  and  the  whole  valley,  and  all  the  ad- 
jacent land,  was  a-quiver  with  excitement.  That  famous 
ride  ended  the  first  chapter  in  Phineas  Parkhurst's  history. 

The  house  is  yet  standing  in  West  Lebanon  on  the  road  to 
Butmanville  where  Dr.  Laban  Gates  extracted  "a  ball  from 
the  abdomen  of  Phineas  Parkhurst  of  Royalton,"  and  the 
room  is  still  pointed  out  where  he  lay  during  his  convalescence. 
On  his  recovery  he  studied  and  practised  medicine,  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Hall,  Lebanon's  first  doctor,  and 
one  of  her  soldiers  in  the  Revolution.  During  this  time  Phineas 
was  often  seen  in  Royalton,  as  he  owned  land  there,  and  the 
record  of  his  intended  marriage  gives  the  information  that 
"both  were  of  Royalton."  In  March,  1784,  he  was  married 
by  Rev.  John  Searle  to  his  cousin,  Lucy  Pierce,  and  they  took 
their  wedding  journey  over  the  same  road  which  Phineas  had 
ridden  when  giving  the  alarm. 

They  settled  not  far  from  Dr.  Hall's,  and  "the  bride's  dowry 
consisted  of  a  cow,  a  pig,  three  plates,  three  knives  and  forks, 
and  three  cups  and  saucers.  In  six  months  her  cow  and  pig 
went  to  pay  her  husband's  debts,  and  she  had  cut  up  her  wed- 
ding dress,  a  linen  gown  dyed  with  copperas,  which  she  spun 
and  wove  herself,  to  make  him  shirts.  His  white  cravat,  of 
which  he  had  but  one,  she  washed  overnight.  Yet  in  these 
narrow  circumstances  the  foundation  of  Phineas  Parkhurst's 
reputation  as  a  physician  was  laid,  and  much  of  the  experience 
won  which  placed  him  among  the  first  of  his  profession  in  the 
two  States  in  which  he  practised." 

A  word  picture  tells  us,  "He  was  short  of  stature,  thick- 
set, carried  his  head  a  little  forward  when  considering  a  case." 
A  proof  of  his  loyalty  is  in  the  record  that  he  attended  free 
of  charge  the  family  of  the  young  woman  who  refreshed  him 
on  his  ride  from  Royalton.  A  privilege  that  he  enjoyed  with 
the  minister  of  the  town  was  his  life-long  exemption  from 
paying  toll  over  the  Lyman  toll-bridge  built  in  1800.  As 
family  physician  to  Elias  Lyman  this  honor  was  accorded. 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  81 

His  life  as  a  doctor  was  not  an  easy  one,  as  his  field  of  prac- 
tice covered  many  miles  in  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire; 
the  roads  were  primitive,  there  were  few  bridges  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  population  scattered  among  the  hilltops. 
The  record  runs,  "He  went  always  on  horseback,  with  his 
physic  stowed  in  saddle-bags;  in  heat  and  cold,  ploughing 
through  snowdrifts,  wallowing  in  spring  mud,  wet  with  rain 
and  streams  in  flood,  yet  never  refusing  a  call  however  distant 
or  unprofitable." 

In  those  days  according  to  the  Day  Book  of  Dr.  Dan  Wright, 
Hartford,  Vt.,  1805,  the  charge  for  an  ordinary  visit  was  a 
shiUing,  and  yet  at  the  end  of  ten  years'  practice  Dr.  Parkhurst 
was  able  to  buy  a  property  two  miles  from  West  Lebanon  on 
the  Mascoma  River,  which  included  a  dam  and  mill,  small 
farm,  and  house  which  stood  near  Lebanon's  first  church  and 
opposite  Pine  Cemetery.  Here  he  began  breeding  mules  for 
market,  and  through  this  venture  alone  he  acquired  wealth  and 
much  renown.  The  mules  were  sold  South,  and  for  the  Penn- 
sylvania coal-fields,  and  were  also  shipped  from  Boston,  New 
London,  and  New  Haven  to  the  West  Indies.  In  his  visits  to 
Boston  and  other  cities  Dr.  Parkhurst  came  into  touch  with  the 
best  thought  of  the  day,  and  he  lived  in  keeping  with  his  posi- 
tion as  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  New  England.  After  14  years 
in  the  square,  story  and  a  half  house  he  enlarged  it  to  its  pres- 
ent proportions  and  even  today  it  bespeaks  taste  and  elegance. 
At  that  time  it  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  establishments 
in  the  country.  Here  the  children  grew  up;  the  eldest,  Phineas, 
studied  medicine  with  his  father  after  graduating  from  Dart- 
mouth College,  married  Persis  Kendall  of  Templeton,  Mass., 
and  in  181 1  settled  in  Hartford,  Vt.,  where  a  son,  Kendall, 
was  bom.  In  the  Ubrary  at  Keene,  N.  H.,  there  hangs  "The 
first  Landing  of  Columbus,"  done  in  embroidery  by  Harriet 
Parkhurst,  in  181 4.  Besides  the  eldest  daughter,  Lucy,  there 
were  Susan  and  Nancy. 

After  1 810  Dr.  Parkhurst  made  so  many  real  estate  purchases 


82  BURNING   OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

that  he  was  reported  to  own  nearly  the  whole  town  of  Lebanon. 
Over  sixty  deeds  recorded  his  possessions. 

In  the  spring  of  1817  he  sold  his  big  house  to  the  Rev.  John 
Ford  and  his  English  wife,  and  he  himself  removed  to  Lebanon 
village,  where  he  lived  in  a  great  house  on  Carter's  Corner 
which  had  been  used  as  a  tavern,  but  which  he  transformed 
into  an  up-to-date  residence.  At  this  time  he  was  57  years 
of  age.  It  was  soon  after  this  that  his  house  became  one 
of  mourning.  In  a  few  years  six  of  his  children  died  with 
consumption.  Only  Harriet  who  married  George  Goldth- 
waite  Ingersoll,  a  Unitarian  minister  of  Burlington  and  Keene, 
lived  to  old  age.  Horace  died  at  the  age  of  16.  Phineas  left 
a  wife  and  son,  Susan  had  married  John  Wright  of  Norwich 
and  left  an  infant  daughter;  Lucy,  wife  of  Jason  Allen,  left 
a  son;  Nancy,  wife  of  Asa  Francis,  a  daughter,  and  Sarah 
was  engaged  to  marry  Colby  Benton,  who  walked  as  chief 
mourner  at  her  funeral,  and  years  after  married  Susan's  infant 
daughter. 

After  the  death  of  his  children.  Dr.  Parkhurst  became  still 
more  absolutely  devoted  to  his  profession.  An  epigrammatic 
reply  of  his  when  invited  to  make  a  speech  at  Dr.  Muzzy's 
Medical  Society  at  Hanover  shows  the  man.  He  said,  "I 
can't  talk,  but,  by  Judas!    I  can  practise  with  the  best  of  ye." 

In  a  quaint  picture  (which  was  used  as  a  fire  board  in  the 
Lafayette  hotel)  now  in  the  village  library  at  Lebanon  he  is 
represented,  as  the  townspeople  familiarly  saw  him,  riding 
in  his  sulky  drawn  by  a  little  horse,  wearing  the  famous  tall 
hat  and  with  whip  in  hand.     Mules  are  in  front  of  his  house. 

In  his  last  years  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Colby  Benton, 
took  care  of  him.  Over  and  over  again  he  related  stories  of 
his  early  life;  told  how  he  enlisted  when  sixteen  on  Aug.  13, 
1776,  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  in  Captain  Joseph  Hatch's  Company  of 
Rangers,  and  again  Sept.  20,  1777,  as  a  fifer  in  Captain  WilHam 
Heaton's  Company,  Colonel  Peter  Olcott's  Regiment,  North- 
ern Department,  and  he  reckoned  it  as  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant events  in  his  history  that  he  was  present  at  the  sur- 


OCTOBER    l6,   1780  83 

render  of  Burgoyne.  He  is  said  to  have  lost  his  mind,  and 
the  pain  of  his  old  wound  led  him  to  think  the  Indians  were 
coming  and  that  he  must  mount  his  horse  and  away.  The  end 
came  for  him  on  the  anniversary  of  that  memorable  day  in 
his  life,  Oct.  16. 

The  inscription  on  his  tombstone  epitomizes  his  history. 


"DR.   PHINEAS  PARKHURST, 

,  BORN 

IN  PLAINFIELD,  CONN., — 

IN  THE   REVOLUTION, 

WAS  AT  THE  SURRENDER  OF  BURGOYNE: 

AND  BEING  WOUNDED  AT  THE  BURNING 

OF  ROYALTON,  VT.,  REMOVED  TO  THIS 

TOWN  WHERE  HE  RESIDED  OVER  6o  YEARS 

DIED 

16,  Oct.,  1844, 

JE.    85. 

The  skilful  physician,  the  upright  man." 

(Authority.     Article  on  Dr.  Phineas  Parkhurst  in  the  Vermont  Antiquarian, 
December,  1904,  by  Kate  M.  Cone,  Hartford,  Vt.) 


NOTES. 

At  the  time  of  the  raid  Royalton  had  been  settled  ten  years. 

"Royalton,  after  one  winter  of  desolation,  arose  from  its 
ashes  and  as  a  first  step  toward  rehabilitation  went  valiantly 
to  work  to  get  its  land  difficulties  settled  and  itself  recognized 
as  a  township  by  the  State  of  Vermont." 

(Authority.     Kate  M.  Cone,  in  the  Vermont  Antiquarian,  December,  1904.) 

"The  object  of  this  raid  was  to  capture  Lieutenant  Whit- 
comb,  an  American  officer,  who,  while  out  with  a  scouting 
party  on  the  Sorel  River,  had  mortally  wounded  General  Gor- 
don, a  British  officer,  as  he  was  riding  between  Chambly  and 
St.  John,  and  had  taken  from  him  his  watch  and  sword.  Ex- 
pecting to  find  Lieutenant  Whitcomb  at  Newbury,  an  expe- 
dition was  planned  against  that  town,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
October,  a  party  of  a  10  men,  all  but  7  of  them  Indians,  started 
on  their  mission  of  plunder  and  revenge,  under  the  command 
of  Horton,  a  British  Lieutenant,  and  one  Le  Mott,  his  assist- 
ant. Their  guide  was  a  man  named  Hamilton,  who  had  been 
made  a  prisoner  by  the  Americans  at  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne  in  1777,  and  had  been  at  Royalton  and  Newbury  on  a 
parole  of  honor  during  the  preceding  summer." 

WILLIAM    RIX, 
In  St.  Albans  Weekly  Messenger. 
Oct.  18,  1880. 

"About  a  mile  above  the  present  village  of  Royalton  was  a 
farm  well  known  to  the  Indians.  There  was  on  it  a  large 
Indian  clearing,  where  they  planted  corn  in  their  spring  mi- 
grations to  the  Connecticut  to  be  used  on  their  return  in  the 
fall.     On  this  farm  the  well-known  Durkee  family  lived,  and 


OCTOBER    1 6,   1780  85 

two  of  the  boys  were  taken  by  the  Indians  from  a  corn  bam, 
in  process  of  building.  One  of  them  died  in  captivity.  That 
rude  old  barn,  indestructible  by  the  fire  set  to  it  because  of  the 
green  timber,  still  stands  there  with  the  fire  marks  on  it." 

WILLIAM    RIX, 
In  St.  Albans  Weekly  Messenger. 
Oct.  18,  1880. 

"The  family  of  Mr.  Daniel  Rix  had  just  come  into  the 
settlement  from  Connecticut.  Mr.  Rix  had  returned  to  Con- 
necticut on  business,  and  his  wife,  with  five  or  six  children, 
was  warned  by  the  valiant  Gen.  Elias  Stevens,  as  he  rode 
swiftly  by  telling  the  people  that  Indians,  'Hell  hounds,'  as 
he  called  them,  were  coming.  Mrs.  Rix  caught  an  old  horse, 
improvised  a  bridle  from  a  skein  of  yarn,  managed  to  get  all 
the  children  on  the  horse  but  one.  Garner,  a  boy  13  years  old, 
and  started  with  the  Indians  in  full  cry  behind.  Garner  was 
picked  up  by  the  Indians,  and  Jo,  five  years  old,  slipped  off 
the  horse  and  was  gathered  in  with  other  captives.  The  father 
of  William  Rix,  Esq.,  now  living  in  Royalton,  was  one  of  these 
children,  an  infant  two  years  old.  Among  the  children  which 
Mrs.  Hendee  succeeded  in  rescuing  was  little  Jo  Rix,  who 
lately  died  in  Michigan  at  the  age  of  96  years.  Gamer  Rix 
was  ransomed  by  a  French  lady  in  Montreal,  treated  as  her 
son  and  sent  home  by  her  when  the  war  was  over.  He  had 
not  been  heard  from  since  he  was  taken  captive  till  he  ap- 
peared in  his  father's  cabin  one  Sunday  morning  a  year  after. 
He  died  in  Royalton  at  the  age  of  85." 

(By  William  Rix  in  his  account  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  published 
in  St.  Albans  Weekly  Messenger,  Oct.  18,  1880.) 

A   REFUGE    CELLAR. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  still  an  old  cellar,  near  Arthur 
Eaton's,  that  was  depended  upon  as  a  retreat  in  those  days 
when  the  fear  of  the  Indians  was  in  the  air.     It  was  like  the 


86  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

castles  on  the  Rhine,  ready  to  shelter  the  inhabitants  of  the 
valley  whenever  the  alarm  should  be  given,  but  on  that  one 
great  occasion  when  the  savage  hordes  crept  upon  the  little 
settlement  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  there  was  no  time  to  seek 
this  retreat,  although  it  is  probable  that  after  the  sacking  of 
the  town  when  almost  all  shelter  had  been  destroyed  that  a 
number  did  congregate  here.  This  supposition  is  substan- 
tiated by  the  finding  of  domestic  utensils,  pots  and  kettles,  in 
and  near  the  cellar. 


EVEN   LOVE    PAID    THE    PENALTY. 

Even  love  has  been  foiled  because  of  the  treachery  that 
led  the  attack  on  Royalton.  Fully  one  hundred  years  after 
the  depredations  of  the  enemy,  a  Royalton  man  while  in  Can- 
ada met  a  young  woman  whom  he  greatly  admired.  On  his 
return  home  they  corresponded,  and  when  he  next  visited  the 
British  province  he  was  her  avowed  lover.  It  seems  that  the 
heart  of  the  maiden  also  inclined  strongly  toward  him,  but  yet 
no  eloquence  of  his  could  induce  her  to  go  to  Royalton  as  his 
bride.  His  business  would  not  admit  of  his  taking  up  his  res- 
idence in  Canada.  The  maiden  confessed  that  her  reluctance 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  she  was  the  granddaughter  of  Lieu- 
tenant Horton  who  led  the  attack  on  the  peaceful  valley,  and 
she  did  not  feel  that  she  wanted  to  become  an  inhabitant  of 
the  place  he  had  so  wronged. 


HORTON   IN   OLD   AGE. 

In  1857  two  young  men  from  Royalton  visited  Canada  and 
were  entertained  by  the  Reids  of  De  Ramsay,  JoUet  County, 
P.Q.  De  Ramsay  is  situated  on  the  L'Assumption  River 
between  75  to  100  miles  north  of  Montreal.  Mrs.  Reid  was 
a  Horton,  and  her  father,  an  English  soldier,  was  at  that  time 
living  with  her.    It  was  common  repute  that  he  was  held  in 


OCTOBER   1 6,   1780  87 

very  high  esteem  by  the  EngHsh  government,  and  that  he  was 
accorded  much  distinction;  as,  for  instance,  he  was  granted 
the  privilege  of  ordering  what  he  would  from  England,  and 
the  package  would  be  forwarded  to  him  free  of  charge.  At 
the  time  of  this  visit  Honon  was  97,  and,  as  it  is  thought  that 
he  was  none  other  than  the  one  who  led  the  attack  on  Royal- 
ton,  this  would  make  his  age  at  that  time  about  21. 


MORE   ABOUT   THE    CAPTIVES. 

Among  the  captives  who  escaped  from  the  Indians  within 
two  years  were  Zadock  Steele,  Pember  and  Miles.  It  was 
exactly  two  years  to  a  day  that  Davis  returned  to  Dresden, 
and  found  and  claimed  his  old  horse.  Nearly  three  years 
passed  before  Simeon  Belknap  returned.  His  experience 
in  getting  away  from  the  Indians  was  thrilling,  an  account 
of  which  was  written  by  his  grandson,  Levi  Belknap,  more 
than  25  years  ago  for  the  history  of  Barnard,  which  has  never 
been  printed.  The  MSS.  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  grand- 
son, Franklin  Belknap,  of  Chicago. 


DESCENDANTS    OF    ZADOCK    STEELE. 

Zadock  Steele  was  the  grandson  of  the  first  settled  Congre- 
gational minister  of  Tolland,  Conn.,  Rev.  Stephen  Steele, 
who  was  bom  in  Hartford  in  1696,  and  was  graduated  at  Yale 
in  1 718.  Zadock  was  also  the  great-grandson  of  George  Steele, 
whose  will  is  a  part  of  the  Hartford  Probate  Records  of  1663, 
and  who  accompanied  the  colony  which  came  from  New  Town, 
Mass.  (now  Cambridge),  and  formed  the  first  settlement  at 
Hartford,  Conn.  So  far  as  known,  there  are  four  grand- 
children of  Zadock  Steele  surviving:  Dr.  J.  A.  Steele,  of 
Minneapolis,  a  son  of  Zadock  Steele's  son,  Solomon;  and  the 
three  children  of  Sanford  Steele,    namely:  Lydia  M.  Pingree, 


88  BURNING  OF  ROYALTON,   VT.,   BY  INDIANS 

wife  of  ex- Governor  Pingree,  of  Vermont,  and  now  resident 
of  Hartford,  Vt.;  Hiram  R.  Steele;  and  Sanford  H.  Steele. 
The  two  latter  are  practising  law  in  New  York  City.  Their 
eldest  brother,  Benjamin  H.  Steele,  who  died  in  1873,  was  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Vermont  from  1865 
to  1870,  having  been  appointed  at  the  age  of  28  years. 


Finis. 


n8o 

Chocolate  Drinkers 

Of  Vermont  will  be  interested  in  knowing  that, 
the  very  year  Royalton  was  burned  by  the  Indians, 
Baker's  famous  Chocolate  was  first  put  on  the 
market.  In  all  that  time — over  125  years  now 
—  nothing  has  displaced  it,  and  46  highest  awards 
in  Europe  and  America  have  been  won. 


Registered. 
U.  S.  Pat.  oi 


When  you  see  the  trade-mark,  the  greatly  admired 
"chocolate  girl,"  by  Liotard,  that  hangs  in  the 
Dresden  Gallery,  you  may  know  you  have  the 
genuine  article. 

BAKER'S  CHOCOLATE  is  always  uniform,  al- 
ways reliable,  and  everywhere  obtainable. 

JV alter  Baker  &  Co.^  Ltd. 

DORCHESTER,  MASS. 

Established  lySo 


ANNOUNCEMENT. 


Photographs  of  the  monument  taken  on  the  day  of  the  unveiling,  with 
prominent  Royalton  people  and  speakers  grouped  around  it,  30  cents  each. 
Carefully  packed  and  postpaid,  $^  a  dozen.  A  photograph  that  every  loyal 
Vermonter  should  possess.  Order  the  1 6  x  20  size  for  framing,  by  express, 
prepaid,  ^1.65  each.      Stereo  view^s,  30  cents  each  or  $3  a  dozen. 

I  will  also  send  to  any  address  twenty-seven  beautifully  colored 
souvenir  post- cards  of  New  England  or  New  York  State,  no  two  alike,  for 
50  cents,  or  thirteen  of  the  same  for  25  cents,  and  twenty  black  and 
white  Vermont  post-cards  for  25  cents,  all  postpaid. 

A  feature  is  made  of  local  scenery  on  post-cards  at  popular  prices. 
Write  for  terms. 

One  of  my  specialties  is  fine  portraits  in  crayon,  sepia,  and  pastel, 
from  small  photos  and  tintypes-  Outdoor  photography  of  every  description 
done,  and  all  my  work  is  guaranteed. 

W.   E.   GRAHAM,  Photographer, 
BETHEL,  VERMONT. 


Sight-seeing   and  Business  become  a   ^Joy 

AFTER    A 

GOOD    DINNER 

And   that  is  what  you  can  always  get    at 

F.  M.  CROSBY  &  CO. 

Restaurant 

19  School  Street,  Boston,  Mass.  Near  City  Hall 

5.30  to  7.30  P.M.,  Music 

Crosby's  restaurant  is  on  the  site  of  the  beautiful  garden  or 
Lady  Arabella  Johnson,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln  and 
the  good  angel  of  Governor  Winthrop's  band  of  colonists. 


WILLIAM    SKINNER 

DEALER   IN 

Wooly  Lumber^  Carriages^  Harness^  Wagons^ 
Farm  Implements^  Farm  Stocky  etc. 

ROYALTON,  VT. 

NOTARY  PUBLIC  TOWN  CLERK 

WOODSTOCK     INN, 

WOODSTOCK,   VT. 

ON    THE    WOODSTOCK    RAILWAY. 
OPEN    SUMMER    AND    WINTER. 

COUNTRY  CLUB  GOLF  LINKS  near  the  Inn. 
PUBLIC  LIBRARY.         -         FINE  DRIVES. 

Address  ARTHUR  B.  WILDER,  Manager. 

WOODARD'S 

SOUTH    ROYALTON    HOUSE, 

SOUTH  ROYALTON,  VT. 

Near  Railroad  Station,  Post-office,  Churches,  and  Business. 

STEAM   HEAT,    ELECTRIC   LIGHTS.     LIVERY   AND 
TRANSIENT    STABLES    CONNECTED. 

RATES,  $2.00  PER   DAY. 

Established  in  1851,  C.  H.  WOODARD,  Proprietor. 

THE  TOP  BUTTON  OF  A  TOP-COAT 

Is  a  little  thing,  but  if  properly  employed  may  prevent  pneumonia.  A  Life 
Insurance  premium  is  a  small  per  cent,  and  unimportant  in  amount,  but  what 
a  duty  it  performs ! 

Send  this  coupon  for  particulars  or  write  S.  S.  BALLARD,  GENERAL 
AGENT,  NATIONAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY,  NEW  LANG- 
DON  BLOCK,  MAIN  STREET,  MONTPELIER,  VERMONT. 

Please  send  me  mformation  regarding  your  NEW  BOND,  LIFE  FORM 

or  ENDOWMENT,  for  $ ,  issued  for  age 

Name 

Address 


Better  than  CoflFee        Richer  than  Coffee 
Seven-eighths  Coffee 


Wherever  you  are  in  the  country 
you  may  obtain 

Choice  Groceries 

from 

S.  S.  PIERCE  CO. 

BOSTON,    MASS. 

by  sending  for  their  publication,  "The  Epicure,"  and 

ordering  by  mail 


Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I 
am  a  protectionist.  I  thor- 
oughly believe  in  the  princi- 
ple upon  which  our  system  is  founded, 
that  of  providing  adequate  protection  to 
American  labor  against  un-American 
conditions  abroad.  It  is  the  imperfec- 
tions and  abuses  of  the  system  which  I 
attack,  for  these  are  oppressing  our  con- 
sumers and  threatening  our  foreign  trade. 
They  must  be  eradicated,  or  the  whole 
system  will  fall.  It  is  not  sane  and 
reasonable  protection  which  we  must 
overthrow,    but    monopoly    and    graft. 

—  Eugene  N.  Foss. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  VERMONT  A  PARADISE. 

A  MAN  has  bought  this  space  simply  to  help  the  work,  and,  as  he  has  noth- 
ing to  advertise,  it  occurs  to  him  to  fill  it  by  giving  a  little  good  advice 
on  all  sorts  of  subjects.  Line  all  the  roads  with  maple-trees.  Com- 
pel every  voter  to  vote  unless  he  is  too  ill  or  too  far  from  home,  under  penalty 
of  fine,  imprisonment,  and  even  disfranchisement,  according  to  persistence. 
If  a  brass  band  organizes  in  town,  don't  organize  another.  Do  away  with 
water  bars  on  hill  roads.  Drain,  shape,  and  surface  the  road  so  that  it  will 
not  need  them.  Keep  more  sheep;  they  will  pay.  If  bears  become  trouble- 
some, make  hunts  and  invite  the  cities.  Put  bath-rooms  into  your  houses, 
unless  they  are  there  already;  this  appUes  to  farmers  as  well  as  villagers.  Let 
judges  shorten  the  time  of  trials  at  least  one  half;  this  means  better  prepara- 
tion by  lawyers  and  the  exclusion  of  all  testimony  that  is  not  essential  to  the 
salient  points.  Go  to  church  once  every  Sunday.  Let  weak  churches  con- 
solidate. Develop  vocal  music;  make  it  high  class;  it  will  be  attractive  and 
refining.  Tiirn  the  cold  shoulder  to  candidates  who  run  bureaus  or  make 
money  campaigns  or  work  fraternities.  Discuss  principles  more  and  candi- 
dates less.  Consolidate  all  the  taxes  in  town  into  one  bill  to  each  tax-payer, 
Require  the  railroads  to  maintain  sanitary  comforts  and  cleanliness  at  all  sta- 
tions. Don't  ask  too  high  prices  for  summer  board;  better  draw  more  people. 
The  opportunities  out  West  are  not  what  they  once  were,  and  life  in  large 
cities  is  a  grind.  The  opportunities  in  Vermont  are  better  and  greater  than 
ever  before,  and  in  the  long  run  no  other  occupation  affords  so  much  satisfac- 
tion as  farming.  If  any  man  commits  waste  in  forests,  make  him  feel  popular 
displeasure.  Going  around  without  coats  in  villages  is  bad  form;  so  is  wear- 
ing barnyard  boots  at  town  meetings.  Sometimes  cases  of  immorality  occur 
in  remote  regions,  followed  by  crime.  They  hurt  the  reputation  of  the  whole 
community,  and  impair  the  value  of  property.  Watch  out  for  them,  and  head 
them  off  by  the  good  advice  of  a  friendly  committee,  and  by  sterner  measures, 
if  necessary.  Every  town  in  Vermont  should  present  a  high  type  of  civiliza- 
tion. Give  more  heed  to  town  records,  church  records,  and  local  history.  It 
isn't  necessary  to  drink  or  to  use  tobacco  in  order  to  have  a  good  time.  Try 
to  persuade  the  Central  Vermont  Railroad  to  build  a  passenger  subway  under 
the  tracks  on  the  west  side  of  the  station  at  White  River  Junction.  Grub  up 
the  roadsides,  destroy  caterpillar  tents,  and  generally  cultivate  a  trig  appear- 
ance. Now  all  these  things  are  easy,  and  they  will  make  Vermont  a  Paradise. 
It  is  fashionable  now  to  go  clean  shaven.  T.  R. 


Hotel  Brunswick 

Boylston  and  Clarendon  Streets 
Boston,  Mass. 

EUROPEAN    AND    AMERICAN    PLANS 


Amos  Barnes,  Proprietor 
Herbert  H.  Barnes,  Manager 


Ladies  travelling  alone  will  find  this  famous  hos- 
telry particularly  advantageous,  as  reasonable 
rooms  may  be  secured,  and  the  location 
is  in  the  very  heart  of  artistic 
Boston  and  also  near  the 
shopping  district. 


Popular  with  business  men  because  of  its  unexcelled 
cuisine  and  perfect  service. 


WASHINGTON  STREET  THROUGH  TO  WINTER  STREET 


You    may    now  confidently   go   SHOPPING    IN 

BOSTON  by  mail. 

GILCHRIST  CO., 

The  most  progressive  department  store  in  town,  has 

made  this  possible  by  organizing  a  model 

mail  order  department. 

Special  Mail  Order  Buyers, 

Women  of  good  taste  and  experience,  receive  your 
order,  and,  exercising  the  same  care,  judgment, 
and  independence  that  you  would  your- 
self, they  visit  the  different  depart- 
ments and  painstakingly 
make  selection. 

The  sole  endeavor  of  our  buyers  is   to   please   our 

customers.     If  the  goods  sent  do  not  exceed 

expectation  in  quality  and  value,  they 

may  be  returned  at  our  expense 

for  credit  or  refund. 

Clearly  write  your  name,   address,  and  all   details, 

and  your  order  will  be  filled  the 

same  day  received. 


ITINERARIES  OF 


AMERICAN  EDITION^^' " 


Travel  is  the  Royal  Road  to 
Knowledge. 

There  is  no  more  interesting,  profitable, 
or  inexpensive  way  of  spending  the  win- 
ter in  travel  than  by  taking  a  tour  around 
the  world.  ^  Conducted  parties  leave 
in  the  fall  and  winter,  east  and  west 
bound,  at  frequent  intervals. 

Thomas  Cook  fy  Son^  33  ^  Washington  St,^ 

BOSTON. 


^    COFFEE  SATISFACTION    | 

I 


I 


(A  BOSTON  PRODUCT) 

WHITE 
HOUSE 

coinnE 

DOES  SATiSFY 


^  The  same  high  standard  has  been  ^ 
^  maintained  for  more  than  fifteen  years.  ^ 
§  It  is  packed  wnder  the  BEST  SAN-  § 
§  ITARY  CONDITIONS  in  the  finest,  | 
^  cleanest  coffee  factory  in  the  world.  ^ 
I  It's   the  "J^eal  Thing.   J-     J-     ^     ,^  ^ 


you 


A    CAREFUL   TEST 
PRO  YES  IT  THE  BEST 

haven^t    tried    it    you 


SS  In  I,  2, and 

S  ground   or 

K  If  your  deale 

S  DWIN 

1^  DrSnr'infil  Cn 


3  lb.  air-tight  tin  cans  only — whole, 
pulverized.     Never  sold   in  bulk. 

dealer  fails  to  supply  it,  write  us. 


IN  the  early  set- 
tlement days 
nearly  every 
Vermont  gar- 
den had  a  few 
rows  of  coffee  beans. 
Since  that  day  the 
story  of  coffee,  like 
everything  else,  has 
been  one  of  evolu- 
tion, and  to-day  noth- 
ing superior  to  the 
famous 

''White 

House 

Coffee" 

is  known. 

Its  characteristic  de- 
licious aroma  distin- 
guishes it  from  all 
other  brands. 
Never  sold  in  bulk, 
but  in  one,  two,  or 
three  pound  air-tight 
tin  cans,  and  may 
be  either  whole  or 
ground. 

"The  Story  of  the 
White  House  and 
its  Home  Life,"  pub- 
lished by  this  firm,  is 
the  most  complete 
of  anything  that  has 
been  published  on 
the  sulDJect.  There 
has  been  a  great 
demand  for  this  his- 
toric work,  and  you 
may  have  a  copy, 
beautifully  illustra- 
ted,    by    writing    to 

DwiNELL- Wright 

Co. 
Boston  Chicago 


DWINELL-WRIGHT  COMPANY,  S^ 

„        Principal  Coffee  Roasters,  Boston  or  Chicago.        CS 


The  New  England 
Conservatory  of  Music 

GEORGE  W.  CHADWICK,  Director 


THERE  are  privileges  and  advantages  connected 
with  the  student  life  at  the  New  England  Conserv- 
atory of  Music  that  mark  it  an  institution  of  unusual 
efficiency.  The  remarkable  equipment  and  strong  organ- 
ization for  musical  education  have  resulted  from  a  growth 
of  more  than  fifty  years.  The  material  increase  is  signifi- 
cant, but  of  greater  importance  is  the  experience  that  has 
come  with  these  fifty  years  of  progress.  To-day  no 
school  in  America  can  contribute  as  much  and  none  in 
Europe  oflfer  more  toward  a  musical  education  than  the 
New  England  Conservatory  of  Music. 

Every  branch  of  a  musical  education  has  a  special 
master.  The  student's  capacity  sets  the  only  limitation 
to  his  progress. 

Owing  to  the  practical  training  of  students  in  our 
Normal  Department,  graduates  are  much  in  demand  as 
teachers.     Practical  Pianoforte  Tuning  Course  in  one  year. 

The  imposing  Conservatory  building  and  its  splendid 
equipment,  the  new  residence  buildings,  the  detailed 
descriptions  of  courses,  are  best  told  about  in  the  year- 
book, which  will  be  sent  on  request. 

Address  RALPH   L.   FLANDERS,   Manager, 
Huntington  Avenue,  Boston,  Mass. 


THE 

WESTERLY 

GRAMTE 

conPA^Y 


BLUE  +  RED 

PIWK  i-  WHITE 

GFIAMTE 


MARBLE  •  mOMZL 
SLATE 


^55  50YLST0AJ  Street 

JEL+BACKBAY   2481-2  BOSTO/*!,    AASS. 


Send  for  Illustrated  Catalogue. 


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